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DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
Wed May 2, 2018, 03:04 PM May 2018

Redskins Cheerleaders Describe a Trip to Costa Rica That Crossed a Line

Source: The New York Times




By JULIET MACURMAY 2, 2018

When the Washington Redskins took their cheerleading squad to Costa Rica in 2013 for a calendar photo shoot, the first cause for concern among the cheerleaders came when Redskins officials collected their passports upon arrival at the resort, depriving them of their official identification.

For the photo shoot, at the adults-only Occidental Grand Papagayo resort on Culebra Bay, some of the cheerleaders said they were required to be topless, though the photographs used for the calendar would not show nudity. Others wore nothing but body paint. Given the resort’s secluded setting, such revealing poses would not have been a concern for the women — except that the Redskins had invited spectators.

A contingent of sponsors and FedExField suite holders — all men — were granted up-close access to the photo shoots.

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.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/sports/redskins-cheerleaders-nfl.html

36 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Redskins Cheerleaders Describe a Trip to Costa Rica That Crossed a Line (Original Post) DonViejo May 2018 OP
RUFKM? MontanaMama May 2018 #1
Yuck bucolic_frolic May 2018 #2
That also struck me as the first clue DorothyG May 2018 #33
WTF mercuryblues May 2018 #3
Surely one can't be naive - NFL,Cheerleaders, Money,Glamor, etc. packman May 2018 #8
Yes, but it's usually less coercive and RandomAccess May 2018 #13
This message was self-deleted by its author Rainbow Droid May 2018 #23
Maybe you better 'splain it to me, eh? RandomAccess May 2018 #27
This message was self-deleted by its author Rainbow Droid May 2018 #31
I think you're being a little RandomAccess May 2018 #32
It is tantamount to sexual slavery. Ilsa May 2018 #34
I imagine the cheerleaders involved in harassment, coercion, conspiracy, etc LanternWaste May 2018 #21
ruh roh pecosbob May 2018 #4
Whoa LittleGirl May 2018 #5
By the time they were told they needed to spend TheDebbieDee May 2018 #11
I've lived abroad LittleGirl May 2018 #35
Wow Solly Mack May 2018 #6
Kick dalton99a May 2018 #7
A racist organization is also misogynist rogue emissary May 2018 #9
I know these women think NFL cheerleading will lead to dancing and other performance opportunities hlthe2b May 2018 #10
I wish parents would understand that cheerleading is not the best thing for their girls Perseus May 2018 #14
Yes... my personal feelings as well.. hlthe2b May 2018 #16
This Dad of 3 girls agrees Stuckinthebush May 2018 #22
Exactly what I told my daughters... PassingFair May 2018 #24
NFL Cheerleaders don't make a lot of money MountCleaners May 2018 #18
That is just sickening Hekate May 2018 #12
Why did they agree to give up their passport? agueybana79 May 2018 #15
Exactly. And I keep a copy with my department staff... a la izquierda May 2018 #30
victim blaming obamanut2012 May 2018 #36
after all is said and done, I hope the cheerleaders own the team and change the name. nt Javaman May 2018 #17
Statute of limitations MosheFeingold May 2018 #19
Now I get why so many half-wits argue for the existence of female-only cheer squads. LanternWaste May 2018 #20
I really hope this leads to charges against Dan Snyder and he's forced to sell Yavin4 May 2018 #25
Pittsburgh Steelers have no cheerleaders and they have the most Super Bowl wins. Cattledog May 2018 #26
Didn't TLC have a series showing the hiring and training of cheerleaders for a NFL team? bobbieinok May 2018 #28
Wow! From the article: robbob May 2018 #29

bucolic_frolic

(43,064 posts)
2. Yuck
Wed May 2, 2018, 03:08 PM
May 2018

Having your passport seized in a foreign country by a non-governmental entity is tatamount to kidnapping

DorothyG

(95 posts)
33. That also struck me as the first clue
Wed May 2, 2018, 09:38 PM
May 2018

that something was really wrong. I can't imagine why anyone would request/surrender a personal thing like a passport.

Response to RandomAccess (Reply #13)

Response to RandomAccess (Reply #27)

Ilsa

(61,690 posts)
34. It is tantamount to sexual slavery.
Wed May 2, 2018, 09:51 PM
May 2018

I don't think for a second that you are off the mark. You don't have to have sex to be sexually abused.

I wonder how much they were told before the trip?

 

LanternWaste

(37,748 posts)
21. I imagine the cheerleaders involved in harassment, coercion, conspiracy, etc
Wed May 2, 2018, 04:56 PM
May 2018

I imagine the cheerleaders involved in the fight for better pay and lawsuits involving harassment, coercion, conspiracy, etc are not naive.

But I'm sure you'll allege you know better.

 

TheDebbieDee

(11,119 posts)
11. By the time they were told they needed to spend
Wed May 2, 2018, 03:34 PM
May 2018

escort time with a few of the men, someone had already confiscated their passports! Outside of country w/o their passports these young women would have felt coerced to be escorts just to be able to get back home...

LittleGirl

(8,280 posts)
35. I've lived abroad
Thu May 3, 2018, 11:36 AM
May 2018

and if someone took my passport, I would have called the Embassy. There is no excuse for leaving the country and not knowing what to do in an emergency.
I'm not going to blame the victim.

That whole mess was illegal.

hlthe2b

(102,141 posts)
10. I know these women think NFL cheerleading will lead to dancing and other performance opportunities
Wed May 2, 2018, 03:25 PM
May 2018

but from what I can tell, it rarely does and clearly the NFL does not think they should be accorded respect or the value they bring in supporting the teams.

Frankly, I think maybe having cheerleaders should stay at the high school and college level, but if they are going to have them, at least accord them equal respect and protection to the players.

 

Perseus

(4,341 posts)
14. I wish parents would understand that cheerleading is not the best thing for their girls
Wed May 2, 2018, 03:49 PM
May 2018

Why not teach their girls to be cheered instead by excelling in sports, most of these girls/women are incredible athletes, why not help them adopt a sport where they can excel and maybe have a bright future?

Sports teams have their fans, no need to have cheerleaders.

I don't intend to offend anyone who has been, or has a daughter who is a cheerleader, and I know cheerleading is not easy, it requires athleticism, and that is why I think a female can have a brighter future by practicing some other sport, one that can offer her a college scholarship and allows her to realize her full athletic potential.

Stuckinthebush

(10,841 posts)
22. This Dad of 3 girls agrees
Wed May 2, 2018, 05:05 PM
May 2018

Of course I do know parents who have children who are competitive cheerleaders which is akin to gymnastics. Serious athletic skill needed in that. So, i don’t want to paint with too brush of a brush. , but cheerleading at sporting events seems a bit anachronistic.

PassingFair

(22,434 posts)
24. Exactly what I told my daughters...
Wed May 2, 2018, 05:23 PM
May 2018

Didn’t stop one of them from trying out in middle school. I was secretly (or not so secretly) relieved when she didn’t make their cut. She was totally over the idea by the time she got to high school. 👍

 

agueybana79

(56 posts)
15. Why did they agree to give up their passport?
Wed May 2, 2018, 03:51 PM
May 2018

I don't give my passport to ANYONE. When I travel, I make a photo copy of the passport to hand out to the policemen of that country, in case I'm stopped and they need more official documentation. If they want the original, I tell them it's back at the place I'm staying, but they have to take me there.

I'm pretty sure there are international laws against governments taking other government's citizens' documentation to travel.

What could possibly be a legitimate reason to ask a cheerleader to give up her passport? She's there to do work, not show her tits and escort VIP men.

This is ridiculous. I hope they sue The redksins.

a la izquierda

(11,791 posts)
30. Exactly. And I keep a copy with my department staff...
Wed May 2, 2018, 06:22 PM
May 2018

My passport sits in a safe in my lodging place. It’s comes out when I leave for the airport.

MosheFeingold

(3,051 posts)
19. Statute of limitations
Wed May 2, 2018, 04:37 PM
May 2018

Is long gone on this one. 2013? Any claim probably died in 2015 or 2017 at the outside.

Regarding passports; mixed feelings. Many years ago I would escort youth groups to Israel. We took up their passports -- because they were kids and did idiot kid things and would lose them. Don't know the ages of the cheerleaders, but if they are 18-20ish, I'd still be tempted.

 

LanternWaste

(37,748 posts)
20. Now I get why so many half-wits argue for the existence of female-only cheer squads.
Wed May 2, 2018, 04:53 PM
May 2018

Now I get why so many half-wits argue for the existence of female-only cheer squads.

bobbieinok

(12,858 posts)
28. Didn't TLC have a series showing the hiring and training of cheerleaders for a NFL team?
Wed May 2, 2018, 05:46 PM
May 2018

IIRC the total emphasis was on the women having to conform to the sexiest stereotypes of female beauty. Everything they did was closely monitored. They were treated as commodities to sell the team image.

Series ran about same time as the one about preparing little girls to take part in beauty contests.

Our culture has a very warped view of the goals suitable for women.

robbob

(3,522 posts)
29. Wow! From the article:
Wed May 2, 2018, 06:00 PM
May 2018

It was a weeklong trip and the cheerleaders were not paid anything beyond transportation, food and lodging. So a week out of your life and no pay. How are they supposed to pay their rent with no salary?

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