Jerry Jones, son Stephen address Cowboys cheerleaders voyeurism settlement
Both Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones and his son Stephen Jones have now addressed the allegations against former executive Richard Dalrymple.
The Cowboys reportedly paid four cheerleaders a $2.4 million settlement earlier this month after they accused Dalrymple, the former senior vice president for public relations and communications, of gaining access to their locker room and watching them change in 2015.
That settlement, Jerry Jones said, was necessary based on what they found after an internal investigation.
"First of all, the cheerleaders are an iconic, a vital part of what our organization is, the Dallas Cowboys,” Jerry told NBCDFW5. “We took these allegations very seriously. We immediately began a look-see, an investigation into the situation. I can assure you that had we found that it need be, there would have been firings or there would have been suspensions.
“As it turns out, in the best interest of our cheerleaders, and the best interest of the organization, in the best interest of our fans, what we decided to do was show the cheerleaders how seriously we took these allegations and we wanted them to know that we were real serious and so the settlement was the way to go.”
Dalrymple, one cheerleader alleged, gained access to their locker room and watched them undress with his phone pointed at them in 2015. A veteran member of the cheerleading team apparently recognized Dalrymple and confronted him before he “dashed away.” The women then reported the incident to a security guard, who wanted to report the alleged criminal actions to police. That never happened.
In a separate incident, Dalrymple was accused of taking an upskirt photo of Jerry’s daughter, who is also the team’s senior vice president.
The Cowboys said they investigated both incidents, but found no wrongdoing. Dalrymple retired quietly earlier this month after 32 years with the team, and has since denied the allegations against him. The NFL has said that it won’t be investigating the team.
Stephen, the team’s executive vice president, was asked about the organization’s culture on Monday in the wake of the cheerleaders’ allegations and settlement.
“I feel like we have a solid culture,” Stephen said, via USA Today’s Jori Epstein. “You can always be better. You strive to get better every day in every area. That would be my comment.”
