Redskins Cheerleaders Allegedly Forced to Pose Topless and Party With Male Sponsors: They Were ‘Pimping Us Out’
A group of cheerleaders for the Washington Redskins are alleging that team officials forced them to pose topless for a photo shoot in front of a group of male sponsors and FedEx Field suite holders during a trip to Costa Rica in 2013. And the cheerleaders further claim that, on the same trip, some of them were forced to escort the sponsors to a nightclub for a night of drinking and partying.
According to The New York Times, which interviewed five unnamed Redskins cheerleaders, the team did not give the cheerleaders the option not to participate.
“They weren’t putting a gun to our heads, but it was mandatory for us to go,” one of the cheerleaders said. “We weren’t asked, we were told. Other girls were devastated because we knew exactly what she was doing.”
Another cheerleader added that it felt like team officials were “pimping us out.”
The story is the latest in a series from the Times which has investigated the treatment of NFL cheerleaders. One cheerleader on the Redskins’ Costa Rica trip said she doesn’t see things changing.
“It’s just not right to send cheerleaders out with strange men when some of the girls clearly don’t want to go,” the cheerleader said. “But unfortunately, I feel like it won’t change until something terrible happens, like a girl is assaulted in some way, or raped. I think teams will start paying attention to this only when it’s too late.”
[photo via Getty Images]
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