Cowboys paid $2.4 million to settle cheerleaders' peeping allegations against P.R. executive
The Cowboys paid $2.4 million to settle claims made by four cheerleaders that claimed former P.R. executive Rich Dalrymple secretly recorded them undressing
The Dallas Cowboys paid a confidential settlement of $2.4 million to four cheerleaders following their allegations against the Cowboys' longtime senior vice president for public relations and communications, Rick Dalrymple, of voyeurism in their locker room as they undressed during a 2015 event at AT&T Stadium.
According to ESPN, each of the four cheerleaders received $399,523.27, with the rest of the money being paid to legal teams.
What happened with the Dallas Cowboys and cheerleaders?
One of the cheerleaders alleged that she clearly saw Dalrymple standing with his iPhone extended toward the girls after gaining entry to the locker room through the back door.
A fan also accused Dalrymple, who retired from the organization in February, of taking improper photos of the daughter of team owner Jerry Jones, Charlotte Jones Anderson.
The P.R. executive denied the allegations in a statement and told team officials that he entered the cheerleaders' locker room not knowing the women were there and left right away, a team source said.
"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 cooperated fully."
The Cowboys organization said that they found no evidence of wrongdoing by Dalrymple as they investigated the allegations. Jim Wilkinson, a communications consultant hired by the Cowboys told ESPN,"if any wrongdoing had been found, Rich would have been terminated immediately. Everyone involved felt just terrible about this unfortunate incident."
Timeline is curious
Dalrymple, who was with the organization for 32 years, recently retired. The move, however, came a few weeks after ESPN began interviewing people in the organization regarding the allegations, and just days after attorneys involved in the settlement were contacted.
In his statement, Dalrymple said the allegations “had nothing to do” with his retirement “from a long and fulfilling career and I was only contacted about this story after I had retired.”
While it was a 'he said, she said' situation, the franchise took Dalrymple's side and believed him.
The four women who accused Dalrymple are not currently employed with the team.