New York. As part of a photo shoot on a trip to Costa Rica, the Washington Redskins forced members of their cheerleading squad to pose topless or in nothing but body paint in front of an all-male contingent of sponsors and FedExField suite ticket holders, according to The New York Times. Some of the 36 women — all of whom had their passports confiscated by Redskins officials upon arriving at the resort — were asked to be the personal escorts for the male sponsors at a nightclub that evening, a request that was met with tears from some squad members. Immediately after the trip, multiple members of the team left their positions, although some of the cheerleaders who went to Costa Rica still remain with the Redskins. Each Redskin cheerleader is contractually protected to ensure a safe and constructive environment. The work our cheerleaders do in our community, visiting our troops abroad, and supporting our team on the field is something the Redskins organization and our fans take great pride in. Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know. Sign up for InsideHook to get our best content delivered to your inbox every weekday. And awesome.
A 2013 dream trip to Costa Rica was a nightmare for Washington's cheerleading team.
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A group of former Washington Football Team cheerleaders have publicly demanded answers after leaked emails reportedly showed inappropriate images of them being sent around among prominent NFL identities. The emails, which also featured homophobic, racist and misogynistic comments, led to the downfall of Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden this week. Those images were taken during an infamous photo shoot in which the cheerleaders were unaware a camera was taking inappropriate images of them between photos, according to the Washington Post.
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Fiver former cheerleaders for the Washington, DC team have claimed they were repeatedly made to feel uncomfortable during a week-long calendar shoot in Costa Rica in — for which they were paid nothing except travel and food reimbursements. Secluded at an adults-only resort in Culebra Bay, the cheerleaders said they were forced to pose topless during the calendar shoot while team sponsors — all male — looked on. Redskins president Bruce Allen said in a statement that the team was looking into the situation, and treating the allegations seriously. We respect each other and our craft. The team also provided two other cheerleaders for interviews, who both said they had been on the trip and had enjoyed themselves. Other cheerleaders described a second, incident in which they were taken on a yacht owned by a Redskins suite holder and prominent local businessman. William Teel, the owner of the yacht, denied that anything inappropriate had happened, noting that he had five sisters and had paid for the event himself. The report came as two cheerleaders from different NFL teams filed suit against their former teams, alleging gender discrimination.
Melanie Coburn, a former WFT cheerleader and the squad's marketing director, crafted a petition asking the NFL to "do the right thing for women" and "make Washington's sexual misconduct investigation public". Former Washington Football Team cheerleaders are asking the National Football League to release the full results from its investigation into the organization's workplace culture after emails from former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden were made public earlier this week. Gruden, 58, resigned on Monday evening after The New York Times reported that he used racially charged, homophobic, and profane language in his emails.
