In new sexual misconduct allegations against another NFL team, it’s been revealed cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys were paid hush money stemming from an alleged 2015 incident involving an executive accused of voyeurism.
According to an ESPN report, now retired longtime senior VP of public relations and communications Richard Dalrymple, was accused by a cheerleader of “standing behind a partial wall in their locker room with his iPhone extended” as they changed.
Four members of the cheerleading squad were paid a confidential settlement of $3.3 million (AUD) by the team.
LIVE UPDATES: US commentators’ deafening silence during Russian skater’s performance
READ MORE: Wally Lewis names State of Origin ‘Dream Team’
READ MORE: Slovakia stuns US in ice hockey shootout, Americans out of Olympics
The women received $555,000 each following the alleged incident.
In another alleged incident, Dalrymple was also accused of taking “upskirt” photos of team owner Jerry Jones’ daughter, Charlotte Jones Anderson, during the 2015 NFL Draft.
After 32 years with the team, Dalrymple, announced his retirement on February 2 and denied the allegations in a statement.
“People who know me, co-workers, the media and colleagues, know who I am and what I’m about,” Dalrymple said.
“I understand the very serious nature of these claims and do not take them lightly. The accusations are, however, false. One was accidental and the other simply did not happen. Everything that was alleged was thoroughly investigated years ago, and I co-operated fully.”
The signed copy of the May 2016 settlement “includes a nondisclosure agreement in which the four women, three of their spouses and Cowboys officials agreed to never speak publicly about their allegations.”
A former cheerleader told ESPN: “It was a very … shut the book, don’t talk about it, this person is going to stay in his position … They just made it go away.”
In regard to the “upskirt” allegation, longtime Cowboys fan Randy Horton claimed he saw Dalrymple appear to take photos of Charlotte in the team’s “war room” during the 2015 NFL Draft.
“The first time he reached out from a sitting position behind her, and she is standing with her back to him, and did it once … He looked at the screen, touched the screen and then did it again. The second time, he’s sitting in a chair at the corner of the table on the left and he held his phone beneath the corner of the table with the camera side facing up where she was standing. And did it again,” Horton told the publication.
A source told ESPN, Human Resources for the team viewed the footage and “found no wrongdoing by Dalrymple”.
Dalrymple said the accusations “had nothing to do with my retirement,” and that he was “only contacted about this story after I had retired”.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!