Redskins Cheerleaders Say Team Made Them Pose Topless for Men and Serve as Personal Escorts

Some former Washington Redskins cheerleaders claim the team invited sponsors to watch as they posed topless or in body paint during a 2013 calendar photo shoot in Costa Rica, and pressured them to serve as personal escorts for sponsors and suite holders on that same trip, according to an explosive New York Times report.

At the Occidental Grand Papagayo resort, “a contingent of sponsors and FedEx Field suite holders — all men — were granted up-close access to the photo shoots,” the Times reports. One cheerleader claims she got her friends to form a “human barricade” to prevent the men from seeing her while she was “basically naked.”

Things didn’t stop with the photo shoots, according to the Times.

“One evening, at the end of a 14-hour day that included posing and dance practices, the squad’s director told nine of the 36 cheerleaders that their work was not done. They had a special assignment for the night. Some of the male sponsors had picked them to be personal escorts at a nightclub,” the outlet reports.

” ‘So get back to your room and get ready,’ ” the director allegedly told them, which prompted several women to cry, according to the report.

“They weren’t putting a gun to our heads, but it was mandatory for us to go,” one of the cheerleaders told the Times. “We weren’t asked, we were told.”

The cheerleaders also said the arrangement made it feel as though the team was “pimping us out,” even though sex was not involved.

Several of the cheerleaders reportedly decided not to return to the team the following year.

Stephanie Jojokian, the longtime director and choreographer for the Redskins’ cheerleaders, disputed the characterization of the trip to the Times, and “vehemently denied” that the night at the club was mandatory: “I was not forcing anyone to go at all. I’m the mama bear, and I really look out for everybody, not just the cheerleaders. It’s a big family. We respect each other and our craft. It’s such a supportive environment for these ladies.”

In a statement to the Times, the Redskins said: “The Redskins’ cheerleader program is one of the NFL’s premier teams in participation, professionalism, and community service. 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.”

The story comes on the heels of other cheerleaders speaking out about a variety of work conditions they claim are unfair. Two former cheerleaders from other teams recently filed discriminations suits against their former teams and the NFL.

Kristan Ann Ware, who cheered for the Miami Dolphins, claims team leader badgered her about her virginity and forbade her from expressing her Christian faith, while former New Orleans Saints cheerleader Bailey Davis filed on the grounds of gender discrimination and claims she was fired after posting a photo of herself in a lacy one-piece outfit on her private Instagram page.

http://people.com