what do these girls expect when they appear half-naked on stage? If they choose to do it for troops or in sports events, they must have known that men are predators by nature.
In Iran, women have been raped for failure to wear a headscarf. In the US, we have different, if still evolving, ideas about women’s freedom and expectations of male behavior.
5
Wake up women!!! How could any of you possibly even THINK these jobs make any sense for anybody? The NFL is a money cow for ONLY the "big boys in the club" - with all the seediness, sexism, and grubbiness that phrase suggests! Wake up!!!
25
In all my years in the DC area, I have attended one Redskins game when tickets were given as a birthday present. I am not a prude, but I found the whole cheerleader thing offensive. They leer into the crowd as if they are making eye contact for a personal meeting and are barely covered at all. After that game, I took to calling them "sexleaders".
What is the attraction of standing on the sidelines shaking like a dancer at a strip club? Are the men in the stands so lacking in human companionship that they need to sit there and fantasize about the female bodies in front of them for the two+ hours of the game? The whole spectacle seemed ridiculous and demeaning to all involved. That this would lead to other demeaning events is not at all surprising. Just stop this silliness.
31
I don’t understand - why take nude and topless pictures you do were never going to be able to use
11
The topless pics were probably given to big donor men as a reward. Sick.
Sure it sounds bad to work for the Redskins, but are these adult women or are they children? At no point did they say no; rather, they sulkingly give consent and then complain later. If you don't say no, you get taken advantage of - even most kids know that.
4
The cheerleaders are a big part of why I watch the game. It would be a shame if they were eliminated. Even as it is, they used to focus in on them far more than they do now.
Football is fantasy entertainment. Watching hot cheerleaders is fantasy entertainment.
That is just the way it is.
2
If only these women had a choice in the matter. Oh, wait.
3
What I find most disturbing is that the women see themselves as victimized for doing things they consented to do.
I'm a member of the generation of women who are the mothers and grandmothers of these young women. In the sixties and seventies we devoted an enormous amount of time to the task of related to "raising our consciousness" of how women were treated in society. We marched. We voted. We educated ourselves. We volunteered. We took control of our bodies and sexuality. We kicked off our high heels, washed off our eye shadow, put on pants and demanded to be treated as (what a shocker) human beings and equals. We explored the power of uniting behind a goal - sisters united will never be defeated. Most of all we learned to say no to being treated as objects or inferiors.
I am so saddened and frankly disgusted when I see that this valuable skill has somehow not been passed on to the next generation. When I hear young women say that they had unwanted sex, not because someone forced them to, but simply because they didn't say no I wonder what went wrong.
None of these women became cheerleaders because they needed the money to support themselves - there was no real money involved. None of these women were forced to disrobe for a photo shoot. They just didn't say no.
If they want to remain cheerleaders, maybe they should try our old chant:
Sisters United will never be defeated.
82
It's "sisters united will never be divided" and nothing in their contract said that they would have to do these things. The team made these things mandatory after the cheerleaders had been hired, and made it clear that they might be fired if they said no. It's coersion, not free will.
23
I can't help but feel that this is just an absurd and grossly unjust response. They consented to this? I hardly think so. Much more of a power game going on here than anything.
19
Let's drag you off to a south sea island, take away your passport and ask you to disrobe for a bunch of men and see how much of a choice you really had.
27
These are obviously very intelligent women. I wonder how they get time off from their careers for events like this.
5
is it the responsibility of men to put an end to this behavior? or do the strong, intelligent, independent women participating in this "profession" have any responsibility over their own lives? as long as any women are willing to subject themselves to this behavior, men will pay them to do it. imagine if on tryout day not a woman showed up. that would put an end to it. period. but these women participate for their own reasons, pride or career advancement or whatever. it seems to me a strong, intelligent, independent woman at some point says, that's it, I'm done, I quit. want to end this? we need to start acting like strong, intelligent, independent women and stop acting like barbie dolls.
3
Here's a wild idea.... stop working at a job or profession where you sell your bodies in any way, shape, or form. You expect to sell your body and sex in very specific ways and then complain when it deviates to something that's not to your liking? Sorry ladies, you can't have that. You know what you are selling. We know what you are selling. The whole world knows what you are selling. So just stop.
88
"...n complain when it deviates to something"
Yes -- deviates. That's the key word.
She couldn't have put it better herself.
10
What are YOU selling, Joe? We're not buying it.
25
This is the wisest comment so far.
8
The cheerleaders don't have to accept these jobs. In fact, there is heavy competition to get these jobs. And yes, they know exactly what they're getting into, not much different from a stripper. As usual, a valid movement (me too) to rid women of sexual abuse is morphing into the ridiculous. Job description: must be young, extremely attractive within weight and dimension limits, dress and act provocatively, dance and bounce on cue with mindless endless smiles, must be expert in the use of pom poms, must be accepting of lustful reaction from male football fans...Give me a break Times.
65
And yet, at some point, the requests made of them were not ones they consented to. But without a passport, what recourse do you have?
41
Are cheerleaders aspiring strippers in elementary school, middle school, high school and college? When does the transition to stripper occur exactly? Another example of victim blaming. "She wore a short skirt, so she deserved it," many have said.
27
You ask for the passport and the ticket home. If they are flying together, they do not want to be held up by a lost passport. Thus, the passports are kept securly. That does not mean they would not get it back if they chose to resign or go home for other reasons.
1
Ah, come on. These women know exactly what they are doing. They are selling their bodies for money. They have a contract. If they want to break the contract, no one is forcing them to do what they do, but don't take the job and then try to say you are offended at what it entails.
127
They most likely started out in the dance industry. The’re are not many venues for them to make a living. Some ventured into the cheerleading realm.
So sad that they did, because they were then abused.
33
You seem nice.
39
Nope. Agreeing to dance at games and represent the teams at charity events is not selling one's body. Dancing and PR work involves skill.
When they traveled outside the US and their passports were taken away, every subsequent expectation involved coercion.
183
Grown women who choose to be professional sex symbols, and agree to the contract and pay outlined at the start of the job, should not be surprised when they're deployed as professional sex symbols. The pay for these jobs is status, not cash. If they're not entering this with their eyes wide open, that's their mistake. Did they think this was their route to becoming an NFL team president? Did they think they were hired to break down next week's defense?
That passport stuff is odd, but again, what reasonable person turns over their passport to their employer, ever? Be an adult. Quit if you don't like your job.
4
It sounds as if the cheerleaders would have been considered uncooperative if they did not turn over their passports. And being uncooperative may get you fired. So imagine getting fired in Costa Rica, and then having to pay your own way back home. In this article, the Redskins cheerleader director Ms. Jojokian never addressed the incident where they were pulled over without their passports because somebody thought they were prostitutes. She should have apologized to those cheerleaders.
6
Why would anyone sign up to be essentially an escort that dances?!! I don’t think these are full time roles that are paying the big bills. It’s my understanding that professional cheerleading is an extra-curricular position. I’m still having a hard time reconciling the fear that some of these women have in giving up a position where men see you as titilation for their amusement or worse - a prostiitute.
3
Yet another reason not to watch the National Felony League.
When not brain-damaging their player-chattel on the field, they're farming out their female chattel to the highest male bidders while milking city governments for billionaire stadium welfare.
Those who do choose to watch should all be kneeling in disgraceful reflection before every NFL national anthem as the billionaire football mafia collects its wretched rent.
Take a bow, racist, misogynist Redskin Nation and Daniel Snyder, the Redskin Pimp-In-Chief.
742
"Chattel" is not the correct term.
Players who make millions of dollars a year are hardly slaves--try keeping them off the field and see how mad they get. Cheerleaders who voluntarily prance around half-naked aren't slaves, either. They're free to leave or to remain, and they stand to lose little should they choose to depart, given that they're not paid hardly anything. Politically incorrect as it may sound, a lot of women (or men, for that matter) would put up with what these cheerleaders put up with in exchange for a free week-long trip to Costa Rica. Like it or not, that's just the way things are.
NYT really, really, really needs to find a better crusade than this. No one should feel sorry for women who choose of their own free will to dance around half naked and become sex objects for peanuts. That's not what I would choose to do, but I'm not going to deny anyone their "opportunity" to do this if they choose. Sheesh. This whole subject has become freaking ridiculous. Surely there are more worthwhile stories to tell, and trolling for victims by asking cheerleaders to get in touch with the paper borders, in my opinion, on the unethical.
Surely some cheerleaders have had positive experiences, or believe that they have had positive experiences. Otherwise, there wouldn't be such intense competition to get on these rosters. Why hasn't the paper published a story about them? Or is this just another one-sided NYT hit job where only one point of view is presented?
9
Thank goodness I’ve never been “into” American football. I’ve watched the occasional game but usually not by choice. I much prefer what Americans call soccer but what the rest of the civilized world calls football.
6
This is all very confusing. Women lecture us constantly that they are empowered, bold, clear-thinking individuals who can manage their own affairs and make their own complex life decisions completely, thank you very much.
We are told that prostitutes are "sex workers" who deserve dignity for the work they do, and probably even SEP-IRAs. Same goes for strippers, who in some febrile feminist imaginations, are actually striking back at The Man and righteously exploiting their patrons.
Stop with the victim talk. Stop demonizing the men who want to see the breasts of extremely attractive women in their 20s. News flash: men like to see them, and extremely attractive women in their 20s routinely use that to their advantage, in a whole variety of settings.
And stop infantilizing these women. Grow. Up.
51
Well, "dude" you do sound confused. Here's the deal. These women give the impression that posing topless in front of strangers and for photos, and serving as escorts to a nightclub gig, weren't disclosed parts of the job for which they signed up. At least sex-workers and strippers, setting aside their overall likely poor life circumstances, know what demeaning duties are expected. Your analogy doesn't seem apt. Was being photographed / viewed in person topless (or in body paint) established in their contracts? Was being expected to serve as escort to high-paying stadium customers, for that matter? Doubtful. (And who were these alleged topless photos taken for, if not for the team calendar???)
Feeling compelled to do something under coercion (confiscated passports!) isn't consent. That some women, as you imply, use their looks to their advantage does not make it allowable to coerce these (or any) apparently unwitting women to bare all for the camera and in-person customers. There's nothing surprising or inherently wrong with men enjoying the physical attributes of attractive women (and vice versa for that matter), but that this should not come at expense of the other party's dignity should be obvious.
As you say, "dude": Grow. Up.
85
Stop the sexual exploitation! Reprimand, even fire, the officials who organized this.
End NDAs, except for narrow protection of trade secrets. It as a weapon to silence people and perpetuate harassment, assaults, and crimes, they should be declared null and void.
Anyone involved should be free to speak out. Settlements that include gag orders should also be banned.
16
The NFL players should strike for the rights of these women! Think of the impact not this bologna about kneeling for the anthem. It would be a great gesture for both men and women!
11
The team can take this opportunity to change their name to the Bareskins. That solves 2 problems, their currently offensive name, and their lack of disclosure of employee expectations.
17
Surrendering one's passport? What is that about exactly?
These 'cheerleaders' must be fairly naive, in combination with lecherous management. Who does this sort of thing and why submit to it? If someone I worked for wanted to take my passport away while in a foreign country, I'd be on the next flight out of town. And I'd be hiring a very expensive attorney after I returned to US soil.
18
The breathless quality of this reporting makes it seem as though someone did something illegal or immoral. But no. Some women did not like what happened on a trip they decided to go on.
We have a lot of freedom in this country to make choices. Sometimes our choices will not work out. We need to live with that. The New York Times should not use its reporting to out people for things like this.
8
I'd prefer to see professional sports vanish altogether. Somehow "professional" and "sport" simply do not go together any more than "amateur" and "doctor" go together. Maybe "professional athletic entertainers"? Or in the case of football, "gladiators"?
16
The NFL, is just a tamer version of the Roman gladiator fights; simulated war games for the masses....Innocent bystanders, the players and the cheerleaders!
12
Just another reason to say goodbye to football. Brain injuries and early onset dementia, the NFL with nonprofit status, as though it is in the same league as the United Way or other charities, ridiculous salaries paid to people to throw or catch a ball, scandal after scandal with charges filed against players as everyone looks the other way, and now this. It is a tainted, so-called sport with many more checks in the negative than positive column. Oh, I know, tradition, Friday Night Lights, blah, blah, blah. The stadium in Minneapolis cost taxpayers tens of millions and most of us will never see the inside of the place. Parents save up to take their kids to one game and have to endure drunken tirades by adult fans screaming obscenities at the other side. And now some more scandal. What else is new? Play any sport, watch any sport BUT football. Please.
13
Yet another exhibit in the case to ban confidentiality agreements. They exist to hide unethical, if not illegal, behavior.
14
That should tell any aspiring cheerleader everything that they need to know about how they will be viewed by the great majority of the male population that watches sports.
15
Stephanie Jojokian - the self-professed "Mama Bear" is the worst one of all. Just because she's a woman doesn't mean that she won't exploit other women - which is clearly what she's doing. This is blatant sexual harassment and the cheerleaders should report it. Thank you, NYTimes, for shining a light on this -I imagine as with everything lately, it will help many others to come out of the woodwork.
20
My first thought is these are very young women - age matters. They need our protection as do young men playing sports - oh wait - those young men are paid millions - what are cheerleaders paid? the pervasiveness of misogyny is so rampant - it's everywhere and in everything and we are now trying to remove it... Men should step back from commenting and listen and hopefully learn.
12
As for the name, "Redskins," it does seem like sports (pro and college) are one of the few places in popular culture where there's any reminder at all of Native Americans. We have the Redskins, Chiefs, Braves, Indians, Seminoles. The Redskins' name is a tad bit offensive, but the logo/icon is not derogatory. The team names are chosen to denote warrior and ferocity or spirit. I am not Native American, but, if I were, I might even be a bit proud of the fact that sports teams use Native American icons to denote their warrior skill at athletic combat and their stoutness of heart. I mean, are the names Braves and Chiefs derogatory? Not more so than Generals or Patriots.
To me, the biggest downside is perhaps the maybe misleading impression that all Native Americans were warlike. It should be noted that no team is named The Savages or the Scalpers or anything like that. I guess I assume that Native American kids are sort of proud to have sports teams named after Native American warriors.
1
men with money will try to get away with whatever they can.
17
I'd be interested in seeing a list of the sponsors for this event.
9
Just because the New Orleans has the word Saints" in their name doesn't actually mean a thing. The women are supposed to dance like strippers, yet live their lives like Mother Teresa, unless their bosses need company for their clients. Same old, same old story, men live by one standard, women expected to pay the price. Pathetic waste of intelligence. Let men get out and dress provocative and dance lewdly. And see what they tell the owners to do. I don't believe ticket sales will suffer . Have women dress in track suits like men do. Football is supposed to be for the whole family. How do men explain cheerleaders to their children? Pitiful degradation.
11
I've often wondered what the value is of having cheerleaders in the NFL. Unlike their college counterparts they most definitely are not leading cheers. Maybe sneers, maybe jeers. Most certainly they are only a window dressing designed to please only an audience of men. Their act has grown old -- even in Dallas. They don't need to exist anymore.
11
They took their passports? Creepy. These are not children. They are adults. There is no good reason for taking their passports. It creates a strange psychological dynamic. Human traffickers, including sex traffickers, always take the passports of their victims.
19
If this is "premier" treatment, how are the other cheerleaders treated?
4
Topless viewing is not right and should not be done.
7
I have to question the legality of a non-government official taken possession of the cheerleaders' passports. The NFL should be required to explain why that was necessary.
18
I agree. One possible explanation, which would still be problematic, would perhaps be that the NFL arranged with the government of Costa Rica to visit that country as a corporate delegation with a gaggle of its staff members and assorted entourage. The latter were allowed into the country only because they were part of the "tour group," so to speak. Of course I am not buying that explanation. A more cynical explanation would be that the NFL thinks it owns its employees, much as so-called "Libertarians" seem to believe that any company owns its employees. It is not unfair to say that the ideology of Libertarianism implicitly endorses oligarchy, and thus that it endorses de facto slavery.
A point which I welcome all and sundry to read into this, is that the objective issue has to do with the idea of Class, considered not as a point of snobbery (mea culpa), but rather in terms of the objective material means and process of production. Failure to keep this central idea in the forefront is the key to understanding how (and why) today's "Left" has wandered from the true path.
2
Can you say humiliation?
7
“No sponsor is worth these children’s safety and well-being at all.” Children? I wouldn’t send my children off into the night with strangers or invite men to watch them nude. Ridiculous and disgusting.
19
Can anyone think of old Rome with its sex orgies on a slippery slide going downwards?
And can you see where we are headed now?
America's president cavorting with porn stars and his fingers allegedly moving upskirts or bras of unfortunate co-passengers in planes or neighbors in bars;
It's billionaire sports team owners and sportsmen of note photo shooting cheerleaders in the nude on foreign beaches for the entertainment of its wealthy patrons;
It's chieftains - mayors, governors, heads of Congressional caucuses, chairmen of Congressional Committees - solidly lining up behind all that is clearly totally vile, vulgar and flawed in every respect.
Is there then any doubt left now where we are going.
The majority of Americans asks its leaders, implores them to think of where we stand now - to turn back from this path while there's still time before we get totally caught up in the turbulence and become completely helpless.
9
"It’s such a supportive environment for these ladies."
Huh? So much so that you don't pay them for an overseas work trip?!
Ms Jojokian later in the interview calls them "children". Huh?
Ms. Jojokian should be fired, Mr. Teel sounds like a slime-ball, and the only women who come across well here are the ones who decided to leave the squad.
Football in American fuels a misogynistic, regressive, violent culture. I have been really upset with the use of camouflage for players on the sidelines recently (and yes I support the troops! Ugh!), and find that the focus on this sport detracts from other worthy cultural pursuits in this troubled society.
27
Ms. Jojokian: “No sponsor is worth these children’s safety and well-being at all."
CHILDREN?? Pretty sure the cheerleaders are all adults. This just points out how sick this system really is. They are sexualizing and infantilizing women at the same time. NFL cheerleading should be a co-ed endeavor, just like it is in college, with women and men performing as athletes and artists, rather than an excuse to turn the sidelines into a pseudo strip club.
25
I will add to that. Corporations in general infantilize their blue-collar workers -- and they infantilize them irrespective of gender, race, or any other demographic category.
5
Having known several NFL cheerleaders over the years, they are not prostitutes or strippers. They are our sisters and friends and cousins. This story, the Redskins, the NFL and Ms. Jojokian are disgusting.
Just end it. No more NFL cheerleaders.
13
Get rid of cheerleaders. They are useless. Get rid of that disgusting Name while you're at it. And anybody who watches that team, either on TV or at the stadium, is part of the problem.
9
This this is absolutely shocking! Grown men ogling good looking females who do the sort “work” that frequently attracts oglers and oglees.... Who could have imagined such a thing? Truly, these must be the end days...
3
The society which allows this type of thing to go on has probably reached a state of general corruption similar to the one depicted in Brecht's "Rise and Fall of Mahagonny." When you have comments saying that ,"the cheerleaders don't have to accept these jobs" and go into the economics of free markets and competition you know the core is rotting fast. On top of it, when such comments get the accolade of a "Times Pick" you know we are in trouble as a nation. Is it any wonder that 63 million voted for Trump (and 52% of white women)? I can see him leering at those bare breasts and giggling like an idiotic post-puberty teen-ager.
10
Stephanie Jojokian sounds more like a Madam bear
11
Hard to file sexual harassment suit if you participate. Hint, don't surrender your passport next time. It's your, issued to you and your sole protection when you travel.
Maybe using that college degree for something other than cheerleader is order. Honestly, don't allow yourself to be in these positions. You have a brain and basic human rights but you have to use them.
4
You'd think the cheerleaders were "hosts" from Westworld provided as animatron playthings for high-rollers.
5
Hmm. Why, then, didn't the Redskins players and management also go topless for a photo shoot?
7
The opinion-crafters who define what is cool and what is not would probably like that.
I think of myself as an articulate, well-educated person but my first, and continued reaction, to the Washington Redskins cheerleader story was: "eeeeeew!" I envision the Redskin management, officials and sponsors as a collection of sweaty, smarmy, lecherous men. I suspect I am close to the mark. Disgusting.
12
NFL cheerleading programs have always made me uncomfortable as a woman. The intent is so clearly to provide a a sexual visual for men, like having a Hooters on the sideline. The experiences described by these cheerleaders does not surprise me and is in keeping with the sexist nature of the programs. What does surprise me is the lack of financial rewards. To throw these girls out to be groped and leered at, but barely give them a dime, exposes the NFL as both creeps and cheapskates. Cheerleading in high school and college is very different than the NFL. It's a sport requiring very difficult skills and featuring very talented tumblers. If you want to have cheerleaders, put a real cheerleading program together.
9
To clarify, a man kneeling in silent protest is an anathema. But prostituting women out, that's Standard Operating Procedure.
25
This is wholly DISGUSTING. I want to spit.
7
Not on the sidewalks of New York. You will be issued a summons for spitting.
These women were played by a bunch of jocks. Then again, they played themselves.
3
Like I needed another reason to hate Dan Snyder. He is a horrible owner and worse human being.
7
Because a woman set up the dates, it's not pimping? Uh, there's a name for that... Madam.
8
They took their passports away??!! Are the Washington Redskins the US arm of Boko Haram??
11
If these allegations are true, this should be a #MeToo moment for Redskins Owner Dan Snyder, who has steadily degraded every aspect of the team. The Redskins have declined from object of home town pride to source of awkward embarrassment for DC sports fans that has as much, if not much more, to do with the off-field embarrassments, management toxicity, and insufferable alcohol drenched game day experience (noting that alcohol-fueled misbehaviors directed at pro-sport cheerleaders have been recently well-documented) to name a few. This disturbing story fits right in, doesn't it? Women everywhere deserve better treatment. Snyder deserves to be shown the door.
7
The sentiment behind many of the (entirely predictable) comments here is the same that so many men express towards women who simply appear in public space. It is a feeling of an entitlement, paired with a version of 'she asked for it'. Truth is, these men will always find a reason to interpret a woman's behavior as an open invitation for them to approach and harass them: the way they dressed, walked, talked or smiled. When will all the 'good men' that claim to be so different finally start to have serious and honest conversations with their colleagues, friends and sons? When will they start to call out this behavior? All we ever get is silence or some firm of advice directed at women (cue Matt Damon).
6
It's interesting that we question young boys' involvement in football due to health reasons. Why not question young girls' involvement in a sport in which success is objectification? Should there be an end to cheerleading at all levels?
25
Stephanie Jojokian's name couldn't be more appropriate. Surely she is joking if she expects anyone to believe her.
Director and choreographer? Uh huh, sure.
More like the Joe Paterno of the Redskins.
The NFL needs to set up rules, let cheerleaders establish a bargaining unit, enter a contract with it that includes a moral code and pay the women who do this a real salary, bonuses for making promotional trips likethe one described in this, and a whole lot more.
It's also on the women to decide why they want to do this under the kinds of circumstances described, why they choose to play a role that amounts to being #MeTooo enablers.
But mostly it is on the NFL and in this particular case the Washington team to 1) change its racist name and 2) change its #MeToo culture and indemnify the women it has used and abused and join the rest of the NFL in establishing a 21st Century universal contract and standards.
And Ms. Jojokian? Time to get the joke.
13
The cheerleading director and whoever else took their passsports should be fired - and sued by the cheerleaders.
7
re, ". . . and join the rest of the NFL in establishing a 21st Century universal contract and standards."
I want my Twentieth Century back.
1
Disgusting. Taking away their passports? That is the equivalent of kidnapping. That’s what prostitution smugglers do with their human cargo.
20
This was a rather jarring story to read. After all, this IS the year 2018, isn’t it? Half a century ago many futurists predicted that we’d be freely visiting other planets, would have overcome most congenital disorders, would live in a more harmonious and culturally generous world.
But the two headlines in the news on Thursday, May 3, 2018 are (a) pro football cheerleaders have been treated as escorts and topless go-go girls, and (b) our president admits he reimbursed his lawyer for paying hush money to a porn star.
Our “future”, it would seem, is not in the stars. It’s someplace much, much lower.
10
New York Giants. Buffalo Bills. Chicago Bears. Cleveland Browns. Green Bay Packers. Pittsburgh Steelers.
What do all of these teams have in common?
No cheerleaders. Why can't the other NFL franchises follow their example?
30
all cold weather teams. the GM's probably know that, during home games in the winter, their cheerleaders would have to cover up so as not to freeze. In Buffalo and Green Bay, it might an insurance issue, because it gets so darn cold. Minnesota uses a dome. So, I assume they have cheerleaders.
Perhaps. But Philly, New England and the Jets have cheerleaders, and they don't seem much concerned about hypothermia. And the cheerleaders there do, in fact, bundle up (relatively speaking) during extreme cold. But that doesn't excuse maltreatment when it's warm.
4
Green Bay, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Chicago are all on lakes. The windchill is greater. They are colder cities. I grew up in Boston. When I visited Macalester, it was so cold to me that I crossed it off my list. My point is that to a Bostonian, Minneapolis was the tundra. I dated a woman from upper Wisconsin (not a cheerleader). She guffawed when New Yorkers said the weather was cold.
1
I'm sure it wasn't in their job description but if it were I bet they still would have had plenty of applicants.
3
William Teel: “The people who wanted to get off, got off. The people that wanted to stay, stayed."
There are a few issues with Teel and Ms. Jojokian's story. Mr. Teel, what was communicated to these women about what was to happen on that boat that resulted in an option to leave the boat? Ms. Jojokian, if this was truly a "team building" event, how could you possibly be successful if some of your members had the option to leave, and did leave? Wouldn't you re-evaluate things if your proposed "team building" event resulted in some of your team members leaving the boat? Wouldn't you make some effort to keep the "team" together, and offer an alternative that made every team member comfortable?
And to those who say this is "part of the job," please re-read the story, because the problem with the scenarios outlined here are that they are NOT part of their job description/contract -- therefore NOT what they are paid for and NOT what they signed up for.
This sounds EERILY similar to the scenarios Harvey Weinstein allegedly created for aspiring actors, to get a job, keep a job, etc.
17
Disgusting Team and it's management and owners. I thought keeping the Redskins name was bad, but this is even worse. Now let's see what kind of teeth the NFL has towards this kind of behaviour!
16
I am a lifelong die-hard Skins fan. I am crushed by this story. This is embarrassing for the team and the Washington area. There is no way to spin this to make it right.
23
Stephanie Jojokian is clearly a protégé of Kellyanne Conway.
28
I feel sorry for these young women at a host of different levels. But the problem for me begins when they took off their clothes on the beach to be photographed. We can argue about the empowerment of ones own body but really, is there a value added by these women disrobing for the camera.
I was pleased when the women's US hockey team were successful on the ice. I was appalled that these same women took their clothes off for pictures. They claim they don't want to be viewed merely as sexual objects and then use that same sexuality to self-promote.
From my perspective this has become a very boorish society and frankly not worthy of much respect. Reap what you have sown people, or in their case, shown people.
16
I might be wrong but I think this kind of thinking is called victim shaming
1
Although the readers apparently jumped right by it, there is no confirmation of a topless photo shoot. No pictures have appeared, which if the claims are true would be surprising.
In the late '80s I worked for a small restaurant group that had several different types of establishments. There was a pub, a high end restaurant, and a disco.
The group held a Super Bowl viewing party at the disco and brought in waitresses from the pub where I worked. They said to wear short shorts. I showed up in my baggy workout shorts (message sent) and they sent me home.
Is anyone who is bold to perform in front of thousands of people or bold enough to drop a top in front of a bunch of strangers, not bold enough to say no you're not going to pimp me out? Exactly where would any of them drawn the line to save their cheerleading job?
And yes, I've always considered myself a feminist.
12
Cheerleaders seem so outdated and ripe for potentially dangerous exploitation. The solution is easy. Get rid of cheerleaders and support women participating in their own sports.
35
Yes, yes, yes.
2
A woman exploiting women for the sole purpose of male pleasure. Disgraceful as "not my president" says.
9
One more reason to hate the NFL.
14
Just get rid of the cheerleaders... not worth the aggravation or distractions. As long as we have the marching band that's enough.
13
yea, I think I'm done with the NFL.
17
All bad press goes away if the Redskins just change their name as they've been told to.
5
For all of you shaming these women, you are the shameful ones! Women can dress how they want, take what jobs they want, be as sexual as they want, and they STILL have rights. They were put in a position where they were striped of those right, by a billion dollar industry- and I hope the sue the pants off the NFL.
17
This is the most spot-on comment on this article that I've seen. It is amazing to me that a high percentage of the comments blame the cheerleaders. Victim-blaming continues full-force in 2018, apparently even among the supposedly high-brow NY Times readers.
4
Can anyone explain why the cheerleaders would be asked to participate in a topless photo shoot to begin with?
30
If you read it carefully, it is only a claim that it was a topless photo shoot. No pictures have come to light as yet. The claim is made by the people who will not give their names.
A team that insists on keeping a racial slur as a name has a problem treating people well?! I'm shocked.
But seriously, NYT, please consider, at a minimum, referring to the team as Redsk*ns instead of the full slur. It's hard to be confronted with that word on the front page as if it is acceptable. This Native American reader would appreciate it.
20
The Times, and other newspapers, should refer to them as "the Washington Racial Slurs".
7
Ladies it is time to push back, sue these perverts.
8
The cheerleaders should be paid as much as the players.
6
When they start receiving repeated concussions and end up committing suicide.
3
When people are prepared, 70,000 of them, to come out in minus zero weather to watch the cheerleaders. When they can attract a TV audience the size of that which watches the games, then they can be paid the same.
1
Any chance that Dan Snyder will do the right thing about this appalling event? Has anyone lost their job? Not sure what that looks like, but no employee deserves to be treated like a commodity. Given Snyder's pathetic attachment to the racist team name, I'm not holding my breath.
4
Did the cheerleading director really call them 'children' at the end of the article? That is one heck of a way to end an article about accusations of underpayment and exploitation.
15
"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."
Is this seriously the position of this story's author? That a nude photo shoot is only uncomfortable if there's an audience of a certain size? Good grief.
7
In a statement, the Redskins said: “The Redskins’ cheerleader program is one of the NFL’s premier teams in participation, professionalism, and community service.
The Redskin statement is incorrect. The tram has not been one of the NFL's premier teams from the day Snyder bought the franchise. After holding season tickets for years, I have turned them in. I will not support Snyder's destruction of a once-great team while he lines his pocket with overpriced everything.
4
Why do they take these jobs?
They know what they are signing up for
4
Stop victim shaming. It’s not ok.
12
They sign up and are required to dance, be wholesome yet sexy, and represent the team. They are not paid sex workers, and even if they were, they should not have to accept being put in potentially unsafe positions out of fear of repercussion should they choose not to do so.
3
That assumes there are victims here. There are not.
Either women are strong and empowered to make their own decisions or they're not.
Nothing surprises me about the ownership and management of this team or the NFL. The team has destroyed the interest of everyone I know. Using the women as a sexual play toys for well to do fans is beyond appalling. It is one more reason to boycott the team until the minority owners force Snyder to resign.
9
At least we NY Giants fans can at least hold our heads a little high, not officially having cheerleaders.
10
There they go again, those crazy boys, further
“burnishing” the image of the NFL... I think the cheerleaders could use a union. The NFLPA would at least have some clout with the League. Cheerleaders currently have no protection and are easily exploited, and there is the issue of fair compensation. If you really need to have cheerleaders, a fairly debatable point, then treat them fairly and as professionals, not lackeys.
5
Why I'm done with pro football, reason # 1456.
11
It's amazing that you could be a team called the Redskins and then do something even more offensive than being a team the Redskins.
21
Nothing redeeming about the NFL, starting with CTE.
8
It never ceases to amaze me the things people will do "for the good of the company". For those organizations with a defined moral code, this type of unawareness and mindset is exactly the cause of ethical problems that can wreak havoc on the organization and pain for the victims. For those organizations without a defined a moral code, it is kindly suggested to develop one to exactly prevent both acts of malice and these type of lapses in better judgement. For Ms. Jojokian, who seems to be attempting to defend such ethical failure as unintentional, an old proverb comes to mind: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"
4
Eliminate the cheerleading squads for NFL games and give the women meaningful jobs in the organization. They are superfluous what with all the electronic cheerleading and the idea is juvenile, let alone misogynistic. Given the costuming they are given to wear, we know that their role isn't really leading cheers at all (Fireman Ed does a much better job of that at Jets games anyway). It's to serve as eye candy for the drunken rowdy sloppy men that attend the game, shout expletives and swill too many overpriced beers. The 21st century deserves a rethink of this ridiculous practice.
13
Many of these women are professional dancers, a career choice that does not offer much in the way of stability. Are they being exploited? Yes, but not because they choose to wear sexy costumes and dance for the fans' entertainment, but because for all of the demands on their time and their own money, they are poorly compensated and have no voice within the organization. Don't get rid of the cheerleaders. Change the management model and treat them with respect.
6
The whole idea of cheerleaders for the NFL is pathetic and so ancient. Anything other than discontinuing the practice just furthers the NFL's business model of a bunch of fat cat owners from another era.
22
I don't understand the principles of grown women who wear the skimpiest of outfits and dance provocatively as objects for leering men on national TV who are then surprised at being asked to take the next step. Nor do I understand chastising the NFL for asking them to so. Posing in the nude -- ask our First Lady -- is a perfectly legitimate activity, and, as far as know, there is nothing illegal about making it a job requirement. You don't want to take your clothes off? Don't take your clothes off and go find another job. But please don't insult my intelligence by telling me that it is some huge transgression to ask these women to do what they were asked to do.
7
Mh12345: Of course, holding them prisoner in a foreign country by taking away their passports is just a trifling detail....but, hey, they signed up for this.
2
In order to insult one's intelligence there must be some semblance of an intelligence to insult. In the instant case, that just doesn't seem possible.
2
Cheerleading is among the worst expressions of sexism in patriarchy, where the men are doing things that "matter" and women are cheering them on. It is a disgusting phenomenon as well as a symbol that enables other unjust realities such as unequal pay, discrimination, and the perception that women are "baby appliances" for men who want offspring but aren't willing to do the work.
19
I don't get it. The photo shoot was for a calendar in which no nudity is depicted, and yet the women were required to go topless, and some wore only body paint. If these photos were't going to be used for the calendar, why were they taken? Just a little perk for the sponsors. God, I have this image of disgusting men sneaking around and peering from behind trees. Yuck!
24
Why are these grown up women behaving as if they had absolutely no other alternative? When requested to hand in their passports, they should have said "No". When told to go topless, same thing. When told to be escorts, also, a big "no". It wasn't as if they all were in a country where women have no rights at all. If necessary, they coul have contacted an American embassy or consulate. This infantilization of women should stop before we lose all we fought for along the years.
10
It's really standard practice to hand in your passport to various international travel locations. I hv always disliked it so I make paper copies ahead of time and just hand them over.
2
It's time for Pro teams that hire cheerleaders/dancers to specifically look for former/current strippers to work for their organization. They should at least hire women that are comfortable with the scenarios of the "sex sells" business. It only makes sense to avoid any future litigation against the team, or negative press such as this article.
These women are adults and can chose to go or not, say yes or no. So now we're going to make adult cheerleaders a protected class because they are incapable--like children--of making decisions for themselves?
12
Ms. Jojokian says "She added: “No sponsor is worth these children’s safety and well-being at all."
Just by referring to them as children shows what she really thinks of these women.
20
Exactly!! That was so bizarre.
5
Isn't this criminal coercion, restraint or trafficking or some other crime when individuals are lured away under false pretenses and their passport is taken? Especially if money is passing under the table or as donations. Maybe the woman in charge could be leaned on to fess up.
On top of that, these women are not independent contractors and should be paid for the time they were working and get damages for their pay being delayed.
6
These women need to ORGANIZE and UNIONIZE. The NFL is failing on MANY fronts, and this is just another example. And ANY woman (coach or director) whom allows this to happen to these cheerleaders under their watch are complicit in this outrageous behavior/treatment.
2
This is far more disturbing than somebody "taking the knee".
13
The NFL's brand just dropped another notch. Their official policy is they don't care what the franchises do in this regard? Dumb.
2
This is obviously primeval, it reminds me of something that belongs in Mad Men. However do the women that show up to do it have some responsibility? It's not exactly moving the women's movement forward. They make no money so almost anything else they spend their time on will make more money. Do we remove this institution to prevent women from letting themselves be disrespected and abused? Otherwise they will?
2
What can I boycott to hurt the Washington Redskins? This is terribly inappropriate and scary as well. You don't have to be a serious feminist to realize this is wrong.
1
You can boycott the NFL. I have certainly started.
Let me get this straight. In a sport that smashes the brains of players to mush, on a team whose name is a derogatory slur to native Americans, women athletes who are members of that organization are treated disrespectfully? Shocking.
9
Cheerleaders are quite the most ridiculous part of football games that I can think of. They are there purely to titillate men. One thing is for sure, if we ever want to get women to be equal to men, or even close to equal, we must dispense with outdated, disrespectful exploitation of women and nothing is more demeaning than cheerleading.
5
After reading several articles about these "cheerleader" groups and how they are exploited (no pay, obvious sexual objectification, etc) why would anyone want to join such a group anymore? Hopefully they will go out of style. They already are, actually. Why are they even there?
5
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I've studied dance since childhood and cheerleading for an NFL team is the only dance-related job I can find.
And let's say I am okay with working for low pay, wearing scanty outfits, and glorifying an all-male industry that destroys bodies and brains and ignores or minimizes battery, partner abuse, and other felonies its male employees commit. (I'm not okay with that, but for the sake of argument, let's say I am.)
And let's say I agree to go to Costa Rica on a team trip, even though I won't be paid for my time. Hey, I speak Spanish and I hear the surf is great.
There is no way, none, that you're getting possession of my passport.
What on EARTH, NFL?
Human trafficking much?
8
At many international resorts they take your passport. Experienced travelers make paper copies ahead of time and then turn them over. Its actually no big deal.
1
Instead of Costa Rica maybe Mar-A-Lago would have been a better pick. Why spend all that money abroad? Plus, nobody would ever find out the real truth.
1
Speaking as elder and female, let all girls and women reject this societal demeaning culture that still exists after women's rights movement so many decades ago. Check our smiles when there is nothing to smile about (men don't smile all the time), wear more modest clothing and reject what fashion or media dictates. Speak up when we are being objectified. Demand equal voice and treatment. Hope our bondage will end soon.
6
Some NFL cheerleaders make less than a $1000 a year. And this shows how far some owners go with the exploitation. Of course the women don't have to the take the job. But the owners don't have to prostitute them out, either.
2
I'm shocked, shocked to find the NFL treating cheerleaders like sex objects.
5
Maybe now they accurately can be called the "DC SKINS" instead of their current name...
1
Every once in a while an article makes me sick to my stomach. This is one of them.
3
Oops, the Redskins are toast.......2013, really? BTW, their name is so patently racist surprised they are still using it. But then, maybe I shouldn't be.
1
Sex objects used as sex objects. The shock.
5
Hasn't anyone said this is fake news yet? The NFL doesn't do anything wrong. Attacking the NFL is like attacking America, Mom, and apple pie. Now let's talk abut that offensive name of that Washington team.
2
The problem starts with grown women referring to themselves as "girls." Then they act like girls. Someone tries to take your passport, you just say "no." Someone tells you that you "have to" take off your clothes, you say "no." It's time for these grown women to act their age.
And, while we're at it, if these women/"girls" don't want to be treated as sex objects, it's time for them to quit bringing sex into this sport. It's pretty obvious the owners care as little about them as they care about the players, from whom they can wrest a lot of cash in exchange for brain damage. The owners are horrible but these cheerleaders know what they are signing up for: bringing sex to the violence that is football.
6
What is absolutely amazing to me is how few commenters hold the cheerleaders entirely responsible for their plight. It's like the United States blaming South America for its drug problem. In this case, the cheerleaders are America. I simply do not understand how one chooses, in the face of myriad other options (that is, any other job for so much "talent"), what she wants, yet, is exploited by doing so. "Feminism" is a dropped mirror; it now reflects in shards of its former self. The feminine excuse making is endless. That "women" can't say cheerleading is stupid; per se, objectification; without any merit as "art"; and performed by groups of Petra Pans who refuse to grow up, is pathetic; but dovetails nicely with all the other blindspots; like, if Stalin were a woman, you couldn't talk about his weight or his hair or his shoes.
2
So, What Weinstein did on his own the Redskins have honed into an institutionalized, well-planned exploitative enterprise. Anyone who watches a Redskins game or attends a Redskins event is guilty of promoting and supporting what amounts to corporate prostitution - the exploitation of women for corporate gain.
I wonder what a Redskins fan would do if his/her daughter were taken to a remote location, stripped and then groped by strangers.
Want this to stop? Organize a nationwide boycott of the Redskins and indict Redskins management. Then begin investigating other teams, because as revolting as this is, I'm sure they are not alone.
BTW, is it legal for a corporation to confiscate employees' passports?
I am an avid NFL fan......get rid of cheerleaders, period! It's demeaning to the women, (most people feel, but many women want to do it), and it's demeaning and unnecessary for the game.....
2
In all of the recent coverage the NYT's has given to NFL cheerleaders, I feel like they are coming across as feeling the need to protect women as if they are the weaker gender and cannot fend for themselves. As a woman, I find this insulting. We are not children and can fight our own battles.
3
No employer should prey on an employee’s vulnerability, forcefully or surreptitiously. Women, even if you enjoy this kind of work on some level, you are worth so much more. Glad a group of you spoke up, and I hope meaningful changes are made.
1
This surprises exactly whom?
I do not doubt for one second that Daniel Snyder condones and is ultimately responsible for the chauvinistic, misogynistic mistreatment of his team's cheerleaders. I'm just waiting (and WAITING!) for karma to catch up with him - it's had the team ever since he bought it....time to catch him too!!
1
Americas teams are American's horror chamber. This port is exciting however the risks are o high for a person to pay. Everyone is abused except the owners, they are laughing all the way to the bank. Last year we found out the wage issue with the cheerleaders and this year we find out that the women are sexually exploited. Owners know what is going on and the old white boy group isn't doing anything about it. Well women need to take action, boycott the games till change happens. Protest outside of the stadiums support these cheerleaders and hold these owners accountable. These owners have so much to say about taking a knee but they wont stop women who could be there daughters, cousins etc.
1
Football, and its entire culture, including cheerleaders, is a barbaric holdover from the days of Roman Gladiators. The Roman's were more honest, though, they all knew the goal was to kill or be killed.
Today's Gladiators suffer an insidiously slower death as a result of the long term injuries from the years of using their bodies as battering rams.
And the cheerleaders are even more insidious, scantily clad Barbie Dolls who cheerfully praise their modern Gladiators as they kill each other.
If the ladies want to effect real change, they'll all up and quit ... but then a new breed of dolls would gladly step into the arena.
2
Didn’t we just codify this sort of treatment of women when we voted President Genital Grabber to lead us all? If we don’t like it I suppose we could vote for better treatment of women in the midterms.
6
Pro cheerleading is like college sports. Both pretend to be one thing (team spirit/student athletes) when they're really another (sex work/pro sports)—just with a super cheap labor force that has no rights.
2
End the ruse. Stop the offensive "stripper" acts associated with a violent, anti-woman, "sport." And stop the ludicrous lie of calling it "cheerleading."
Just don't do it. And don't watch it. And end it. It's disgusting anyway and trying to legitimize it by "unionizing" is absurd. Just end it.
And here's an easy way not to be a topless show for obscene men: don't do it.
Nancy Reagan left one very good bit of legacy: Just say no.
Let me be the first to offer that as an answer to whether these are "cheerleaders," whether strip club acts renamed "cheerleaders" should be performing at any sporting event (even for Louisville college basketball young men): Answer: Just say no. Should you complain about taking your top off and posing nude for men to look at and then complain about taking your top off and posing nude? When you are told to take your top off by anyone and pose nude, what can you say? Just say no.
Life gets simpler - and cleaner and more decent - when you take some ownership of your decisions.
4
Just end cheerleading squads for pro sports like the NFL. It makes no sense in such huge arenas. Cheerleaders at a high school game, in more intimate venues, where we can see and hear and get motivated by their cheers, makes sense
1
Just end the redskins! They don’t deserve a place in the league.
1
Nothing embodies if you will the frat boy party Las Vegas football more so than its cheerleaders. After all isn’t that what hooters Resturant’s celebrate, cheerleaders as waitresses. The redskins because of their name and moniker and its refusal to acknowledge its strident go it alone form of denigration is one reason I do not watch their games. Another is the constant barrage of replays and commercials. Beer commercials and truck commercials. Most male dominated sports have become too violent. Female teams playing the same sports seem to be less violent, more focused on the finesse of the games. Easier to watch and easier to understand.
2
I've been to many NFL games and the cheerleaders are almost non-entities when it comes to whipping up the crowd. I remember when the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders were the "hot" numbers in the cheer leader sphere if that's such a thing. They were pedaled not as enthusiasm rousers but more as sexual arousers. That all made sense at one time I guess. With sex and controlled violence - who needs football?!
In any event the cheer leaders are workers who should get themselves a union. Employer abuse is something that takes place in every corner of this country and workers have a right to stand up and fight it. Sadly unions have been gutted by the same mentality that encourages us to get all hot and bothered by cheer leaders. We're down to bread and circuses (more circuses I'd say). Enjoy the show but as the great union cheer leader Joe Hill once said - "Don't mourn - ORGANIZE!"
67
If they don’t like it they should quit. There is no prostitution here, which seems to be what is insinuated. Sex sells, and these women are representing the team as sex objects. That’s the job. Take it or leave it.
3
This is yet another disgusting example of objectification of women by powerful men. When is this going to stop?
1
I guess sex sells. But these abusive excursions under the guise of Sport events do objectivize women, a form of exploitation that ought to be intolerable...if they were your daughters. Hypocrisy seems the order of the day. Are the heads of these sports clubs whoremongers perhaps? Or just 'pretend'?
Will women ever stop feeling like they have to be at the beck and call of men and what they want? And sadly what many men first and foremost want is to objectify women. It happens on online dating and with cheerleading squads. It’s disgraceful.
2
What is so disturbing about this is the obvious lying that goes on by the Redskins that this is all just fun and games and lots of harmless fluff. You can't get a better example of women being used as pure sex objects outside of a brothel. Pay to play - it's just a matter of time till someone decides that they've payed enough to entitle them to molest the women [they are not "girls"] more seriously.
2
This is so wrong on so many levels. Why would a woman want to be an NFL "cheerleader" anyway. Disgusting.
3
What about the NFL is not exploitative? They have a bunch of black guys bashing their brains in for cash, but as soon as they make the gentlest of protests regarding the shooting of unarmed black people (i.e kneeling to the flag), the white fans boo, taunt and threaten them.
The "Redskins" is a despicable name that the team refuses to change, demonstrating the league's arrogance and tone-deafness when it comes to fans of color.
Let's not even begin to mention the crimes committed by players.
And now this?
I am beginning to hate American football. Let it die. We have enough great sports and outside of the US football is soccer, a far more beautiful game.
4
To quote Mitch McConnell: “I believe the women,” and not the ones fearful of their status as R_____ns cheerleaders.
Yes, and their hanging on to the name "Redskins" is an homage to the noble savage. Time to quit watching football completely.
1
Horrifying. Who dared to organize this? They should be behind bars.
NFL cheerleading is nothing more than a legal form of prostitution. Cheerleaders are hired for their sexual attractiveness, are strictly controlled by their employers, paid substandard wages, forced to perform demeaning acts, and severely disciplined or discharged if they complain.
3
Spent a WEEK in Costa Rico doing PR for the team and were NOT PAID for their time ??? Ridiculousness . The absurdity of the Non-Functional League never fails to astound me . How working-class people ( aka fans ) are duped into supporting this banal brand of entertainment which is so stereotypically targeted at 'Woof' 'Woof' 'Woof' Self-Delusional He-Men, while "Billionaires" feed their high & mighty lifestyles with the 'wasted' hard earned cash of the brainwashed is beyond my comprehension !
There are so many legal and “moral” lines being crossed in this report by so many repulsive people, that it could have been an article about the Trump administration.
1
The obvious question is why don't these women just quit this demeaning job?
2
"What bothered them was their team director’s demand that they go as sex symbols to please male sponsors, which they did not believe should be a part of their job."
Wait... doesn't this happen every week on the gridiron during football season? So it's okay to ogle from a distance but not up close I guess. I bet they didn't have to wear the skimpy cheerleadin' duds when they were on the escort job.
1
Dan Snyder is such a sleaze. Happy to be a Steeler and Rooney family fan.
Who organized that trip?!? They should be fired!
1
Spent a WEEK in Costa Rico doing PR for the team and were NOT PAID for their time ??? Ridiculousness . The absurdity of the Non-Functional League never fails to astound me . How working-class people ( aka fans ) are duped into supporting this banal brand of entertainment which is so stereotypically targeted at 'Woof' 'Woof' 'Woof' Self-Delusional He-Men, while "Billionaires" feed their high & mighty lifestyles with the 'wasted' hard earned cash of the brainwashed is beyond my comprehension !
As time passes, it becomes more and more obvious that football has no legitimate reason to exist. It destroys the brains of the players and prostitutes the cheerleaders. What kind of person takes pleasure in this?
1
Crazy, absolutely crazy, that cheerleading exists on professional sports teams. It’s a pretty sad statement about our sports culture in America that we employ this backwards, sexist, “sport” to place women as sex objects, subordinate to men, to “cheer”. And the men who foam after them, so shameful. No dignity here.
Just as with guns, the NFL is another uniquely American disease.
1
This cuts both ways.
First, no one should ever surrender their passports under any circumstances whatsoever. The Redskins should be severely fined for this by the NFL. Confiscating a passport and then demanding service could be reasonably construed as 'human trafficking'.
Second, cheerleaders know why they are hired and the fact that their sex appeal and athleticism are the number one reasons for their hire. Don't be naive.
Third, the Redskins should be fined for allowing people hired under professional contract to be 'ordered' to do something they did not contractually agree to do. The answer is 'NO'. If a cheerleader was fired for same, one can sue for cause.
Frankly, the NFL makes me sick. Raising cheaters and whiners like the Patriots to godlike status (like that is in any way different than Lance Armstrong....not) and trafficking in underpaid cheerleaders is pretty much the low point of American culture and, further, the exact nonsense that put Trump in office.
1
Let's sell women, and men for that matter, tickets to viewing booths in the Redskins locker room. This way the Redskins can't be accused of only objectifying women. Objectify equally!
2
The NFL is such a tacky racket it's downright unbelievable they get away with it. Here in Las Vegas we taxpayers are forking over a record-high astronomical amount, hundreds of millions of public money to build a huge dazzling luxury stadium, and a leading candidate for governor is running on what a great deal he helped broker for this tax giveaway oops I mean football party that all of us are going to go wild about. Except, you know, citizens who are outraged to be suckers for the NFL owner/billionaires.
Mandatory team bonding? On a sponsors private boat with a group of male sponsors?
Mandatory nude or nearly so photo shoots for no pay? With male sponsors watching?
There is a word for a "team mama bear" who takes the sponsor's cash for her "dance troupe" and then turns around and requires that girls participate in mandatory activities such as the above. This is exploitation pure and simple. Doesn't matter if its "only voyeurism" and no touching occurred. It's still disgraceful. Ms. Jojokian is a madam.
2
Long hours, hard work, scant pay, and get treated like bobble-head dolls. What I can't understand is why any woman would want to be an NFL cheerleader.
1
So what? Live and let live.
How about changing the team's name to the Washington Red Faces?
Sports in America are alocohol fueled and when you have women in skimpy out fits expect the worst. Then when you have brain damage of the players mutiplying year after year we will hear about this type of abuse more and more. Football should end as we know it since it is causing so much brain damage. I can’t get excited in a sport that causes grown men dementia with every hard hit and abuses so many women.
I am no longer sure what to make of these stories - I have been critical - very critical - of the exploitation of these women, make that young attractive women, but now I think, why the heck would anyone want to 'work' in such an environment. Let's get real - forget the nonsense about charity work or dance routines - cheerleaders are, first and only, hired for their looks and physique and for the titillation of the largely male audience. If you don't know that this is what you signed-up for then you are either willfully blind or blindingly naïve . . . and, really, you are not being forced to 'work' there (goodness knows it's not for the pay) . . .
2
So what?
They did not 'take a knee' while the National Anthem was being played.
The team is not named the Washington Whiteskins.
This is not what most of the world calls football.
Cheerleaders are not selected for their character and intellectual prowess.
Melania Trump is the third model wife of Donald Trump.
1
I'm sure that the madams of days gone by, especially the ones who were kidding themselves about their so called profession, thought of themselves as just "Mama Bears" as well.
FedExField. I wonder how FedEx feels about being associated with the Redskins.
This situation is obviously not right. I do find it wrong that the NFL is unable to sign an openly gay player, sufficiently crack down on physical abuse of women by players, collude to blackball Colin Kapernaek and the R-skins still have their racist name.
1
Illegal. Sleazy. False imprisonment, kidnapping maybe. Some big boys/girls including the owner need indictments and a few years in cells to think it over. This is one standard of morality for the NFL owners and particularly the Washington Redskins. Disgusting. Slimy.
2
Gees, high class escorts expect to be paid very well , and these poor gals were, after all, paid nothing more than their expenses. Seems like, even discounting the humiliation of the photo shoot, the Red Skins management ought to be put-up on charges of White Slavery. Pathetic.
I'm shocked. SHOCKED!
What is the difference between this sexual abuse and Weinstein and Lauder. This people should be prosecuted for sexual abuse.
Anything else is discrimination..
1
One more gimmick used by American Football, Inc. to attract the public to their arenas to spend $$$$
If this was not illegal, it should be. If the Redskins owners are so proud of the Redskins name, let the owners pose for photos wearing nothing but red body paint.
1
As far as i undrestand, these girls are all of age and are perfectly aware of what is going on. Everything they do on and off NFL field seems to be consensual, including parties with sponsors, token salaries, use of laxatives to keep the weight, etc. i am sorry, but i don’t see a shread of evidence that they are exploited in any way more than, say, pole dancers in an adult club. They made a choice not to be teachers, waitresses, policewomen or computer scientists.
To me personally, football games are quite boring and i don’t get any kick from watching 200lb guys in tights making runs once in a while with badly dressed semiprofessional sport grupies dancing at halftime.
I have never been to a NFL game and probably watched 3 of them on TV in the
4
An adolescent might find the idea of this titillating. Any adult with or without daughter/son, shouldn't.
Let's lose cheerleading entirely, along with the 2nd amendment, gerrymandering and Citizens United.
4
“Everyone who wanted to get off got off”
No double entendres there?
1
Anyone heard from the Commissioner on this? Crickets.
1
Note to aspiring NFL cheerleaders:
A job that requires you to wear a bikini and white go-go boots to work, where you are referred to as a "girl," and where you have to meet with "sponsors" off-site, is not a job where you will be treated with dignity and paid well.
4
I've been a redskins fan since the 60's. The Snyder era has made it harder to reconcile my love of sports with my humanity. Disgraceful name ( I did send the team a suggestion they change their logo to the redskin potato, go spuds....no response), concussions, $9 budweisers, etc, etc. Now this. Amazing what it takes for a tipping point. I will boycott games, broadcasts, AND advertisers until someone high up (can you say Bruce Allen ) is held accountable. Oh, and then there's the NFL' position. Repulsive.
I'm forever amazed that so very many 'men' never grow up -- when it comes to their 'consideration' of women. Far worse than the 'oglers' in this article ... and a far more egregious depravity ... are the numbers of stunted men who 'put their hands' -- 'uninvited' -- on women, let alone abuse them with 'especia;' physicality.
At the same time, I would be embarrassed if my sisters were cheerleaders of the kind here subject, and more so if a sister or mother of mine were as crass or as 'compromised' as Ms. Joke ... er ... Jojokian.
National Pimping League?
So the crusade is to stop adult women who choose to do so from cheerleading for professional sports teams? Why all this ceverage?
Do you suppose Mike Pence and Donald are as offended by mandatory nude photo shoots as they seem to be by a player taking a knee in silence?
2
Violence and sex sells. And man , do you have it all with NFL games: the game itself, the military(often), and the barely clad cheerleaders.
This incident sounds like something out of 'The Hand Maids Tale.'
Not at all. These adult women made a conscious choice to become cheerleaders and perform half naked. When they took that step, they knew what they were getting into. No sympathy. They were looking for excitement and glamour - they got it.
1
Calling Michael Avenatti... these girls need you
Let’s start at the beginning - this tax exempt charity NFL with their offensive team name doesn’t has a lot to answer for.
1
As with all things involving professional sports America in it's never ending pursuit of money has now tainted and stained everything connected to competition. I get more enjoyment from watching the kids on the block play stick ball. Obscene contracts to players that don't really deserve millions of dollars to throw a football, politics, murder, and now this.
Took their passports? Really? That in and of itself has to be illegal. Their passports are their personal property. The exposure of breasts for the amusement of those present is pathetic. Can't these guys get girlfriends?
I don't watch any professional sports anymore as the entire industry is now so corrupt I refuse to be a part of it in any way.
These women really need to talk to a good lawyer.
1
NFL cheerleaders are the modern day equivalent of Playboy bunnies who can dance. It’s kind of naive if they don’t know that going in.
3
The unimpeded industrialization of abuse. God forbid that a racist cop be arrested for murder but it's acceptable for a drunk donor to grab and otherwise assault a cheerleader. Such stark contrasts are puke provoking. We need to stop supporting football if we want to send these knuckleheads a real message about the value of our daughters and sisters.
1
Just another ham-handed NFL enterprise.
I hate to get too "psycho-analyzey", but I see evidence of society, mothers, families putting their daughters in these roles as children ... like young girl beauty paegents, cheerleader training/camps/competitions, modeling training, etc ... they are projecting onto girls and women roles where they are rewarded for looks, appearance, "sexiness", rather than for their being, intellect, capabilities, a form of conditioning ... its sad and results in perpetuating their subservience to and control by men ...
2
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, dances like a duck, it is a duck. She said, she said. Where there's smoke, there's fire.
Add you're favorite cliche.
Amazing that these people were at the same event. In the end, terrible. Hooray for the teams without these squads, even though charity & more wholesome events may suffer a bit, but maybe not.
If you ever need more proof of what a horse's the Redskins owner is, it is here. Dan, my name's attached here. Sell the team!
Insulting women and native Americans all in one headline!
1
I'm shocked, shocked, that scantily clad women who volunteer to suggestively gyrate in public are being sexually exploited.
Then again, a team still named Redskins? What would you expect?
The sport is tawdry and violent. Its your game, America.
2
It is absolutely disgusting that these NFL teams do not pay their cheerleaders appropriately. Not to mention the human trafficking aspect noted by other commenters. These teams are making millions and millions of dollars. Why do they expect young women to work for almost nothing? Oh wait....operative words...."young women." Guess these men think they can just get away with anything and any kind of exploitation because the cheerleaders are only women. Disgusting. Revolting. Pathetic. Illegal. Time for a huge lawsuit.
2
Jack Kent Cooke, we miss you.
1
Don't Redskins fans wear pig noses? What do you expect from an organization that emulates swine?
1
Mama's, don't raise your daughters to be cheerleaders.
5
Cheerleading needs to go the way of the corset.
2
Cheerleaders are not sex slaves and they all have day jobs! Nor are they prostitutes AND Clearly they are being abused but unlike Slaves, they have made a conscious to market themselves as sex objects
How tawdry. What a tawdry country. What a tawdry leader. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.
5
Sorry. Saying you have a daughter or sister doesn’t absolve you of being sleazy.
1
Snyder should be forced to sell the team. He refuses to change a racist team nickname to begin with, & then promotes this garbage along with his sexist promotions on his radio stations. He had no business owning this franchise in the first place. This guy is hated in D.C. he can’t even get into a country club in the area. No one wants him.
1
-In a statement, 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.”-
----What a mealy-mouthed morsel of PR buffoonery. These are the same clowns who insist the name REDSKINS is appropriate as a team moniker in 2018. What a joke of a franchise...
2
Heads are going to roll at the Redskins operation.
Wait and see.
And thus a new group of alternative team names to the offensive and politically incorrect "Redskins" arises, "The Washington Pimps" among them.
2
So what are they in your eyes, Ms. Jojokian? “Ladies,” “children,” or “women?” I think you are confused.
2
To refer to these women as "girls" and "children" (!!!!!!), as Ms. Jojokian does repeatedly, tells you all you need to know about the level of respect and regard she (and the Redskins organization, and the men who exploted these women) has for them. Gross.
1
It sure reads as if the clubs are an inch away from forcing women into (unpaid) prostitution.
2
And they can change their filthy, racist name while they're at it.
2
What do you expect?
1
The feminists can scream and the media can pander to them, but no one forced any one tpo be topless. Contrary to the false claims that the article repeats, there was no "gun to our heads". They all did it voluntarily for the basest of reasons....greed....the wanted the easy money. Any one who didn't want the money could have refused.
2
Shocking. Who would have thought sexy scantily cladd girls would agree to such behavior.?
Disgusting and sickening. My opinion of the Washington Redskins has plummeted. As the team that my Washington family rooted for, I am doubly saddened.
2
NFL Cheerleaders: you are free citizens, not sex slaves. When you no longer want to be grossly exploited by an industry which treats you with such contempt, you can quit this ugly charade. Self-respect much?
2
#timesup, creeps (& creepettes--Ms. Jojokian, your mom card access is denied in this situation).
1
Quit whining . You all have some brain damage like the NFL football players. If you don’t like the treatment get out of the terrible life style. If you are there next month it is on you.
1
"No sponsor is worth these children's safety" says Ms Jojokian.
That lady is one weird "mom". You can wear a straw hat and high heels and feast on some fiber and laxatives before your "mom" decides who gets to go on some guy's yacht. The pay is zero.
Stormy Daniels needs to do a Reality class for these ladies- in her stripper world she said you were considered a sad case if you didnt have a paid off house and car and calling the shots by the age of these ladies who are doing the same thing for nothing, twerking for some mom-lady who has your passport.
4
These women are complicit. Put your clothes on, go to school, and get a grown-up job.
4
Unionize.
3
We have a story in the NYT about sex that Trump had with Stormy. And on the same page stories about naked cheer leaders. I guess sex sells papers still
And.... nobody was surprised ....
Surprise...hey NFL....Roger...see any problems here you might want to address immediately? What a relief that Ms. Jojokian “is a mom”. I was worried for a bit of possible bad intentions.....
1
Cheerleaders? Only difference between NFL cheerleaders and dancers at a men's club is that the cheerleaders work without a pole. The NFL is a men's club so I guess it makes sense to have dancers to entertain the male patrons.
The NFL keeps getting awesomer.
1
This whole “profession” should be eliminated. Showing your legs and bare abs to support meaty men bumping heads sends the wrong message to young girls and, in a way, propagates sexual harassment and other mistreatment of women. Not that the girls deserved this in any way, but I do think participating in the profession ironically supported the very mistreatment they were subjected to.
1
Republicans and their Christian values: rape, intimidation and machismo
1
Must the paper print a vile ethnic slur to write this story?
I wonder why this happened in Costa Rica? Could it be because US laws do not stretch that far? Someone needs to go to jail but don't hold your breath.
As a sports fan I am very disturbed by the sexualization of sports. Of course beach volleyball played well is hard, and those who win gold medals are top athletes. But don't tell me it was introduced for athletic reasons. There is a reason that (pre) pubescent gymnast girls are encased in skimpy outfits while the men wear more sensible and tidy workout costumes.
Get rid of the cheerleaders and get rid of the pageants. We will never have equality until these jiggle shows for men are discontinued. And don't tell me that isn't what they are. The public is not looking at the routine.
3
“I have five sisters,” he said, adding that at his boat parties “no one was allowed to be disrespected.”
I have black friends... My housekeeper is Hispanic... My lawyer is Jewish... Come on, please.
This whole article is disgusting.
6
Stop being so anti-male.
1
Despicable! Just say "No!" you idiots.
Cheering in skimpy attire is so outdated and sexist. Now's the time to revolt, or you have no grounds to complain.
And while we're at it, let's get rid of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Another example of objectifying women. Unfortunately, they want to be photographed but it makes it tougher for the rest of us.
Maybe now with the #MeToo movement people will have the guts to say "No!"
Read the contract closely, girls.
3
Why does the New York Times continue using racist slurs in headlines? The Washington Post gave this up years ago. It's time for the Times to get with the times.
2
What do we expect from Washington legislators if this is the team from that city? We haven’t come a long way, baby. This is disgraceful and makes the MeToo movement more understandable.
1
The name of the team is still REDSKINS. Stupid is as stupid does, continued disrespectful behavior by leaders in this franchise is not a huge surprise.
3
Whenever damning news like this comes out, the response from the company is always the same...includes the word 'professionalism', 'safe environment', 'contractual', and some phrase to the effect of how this is all within the law, 'commitment', 'categorically deny allegations', etc. These statements are so much in contradistinction to the information and testimony provided that they seem like a boilerplate joke.
1
gimme a break (part 2) - in what sense is this news? what precisely is the NYTimes reporting here - how odd are American sports rituals?
2
Life is choices. Get a real job!
1
It goes without saying-Men are pigs. If you didn't hear it the first time, The Times just spelled it out for you, again.
Disgusting on all levels. The NFL should be ashamed.
2
Many of my girlfriends are former redskins cheerleaders (quit on own bc of unpleasant experiences).... this article is tip of the creepy pervy old man ice berg of what all goes on with that organization... redskins executives are DISGUSTING creeps
6
Mama bears do not arrange topless photo shoots. Mama bears do not arrange for young women to be with old men in night clubs. Mama bears don't ask girls to "volunteer" for events such as these. Ms. Jojokian seems to have confused the term "mama bear" with "pimp."
Obviously, we can't expect the NFL to penalize the Washington Redskins for such behavior--that would violate the core philosophies of the league and much of its fan base. Obviously, we can't expect the NFL to require it's teams to treat cheerleaders with something approaching respect--that would violate the core philosophies of the league and much of its fan base. Obviously, we can't expect the NFL to expect common decency from its owners, its players, its management teams, its boosters--that would violate the core philosophies of the league and much of its fan base.
But, please, tell me again how Colin Kaepernick put the NFL in a bad light.
8
If you don't want to be treated as a sex object, DON'T BE A CHEERLEADER! DON'T BE A MODEL! DON'T BE A PORN STAR!
Get it? Your mother must've forgotten that rule when she made you the strong, independent, thoughtful woman you seem to think you are!
4
But not all beautiful models can grow up to be first ladies or Miss Universe, so any particular suggestions ... junior varsity playboy bunnies?
Ms. Jojokian, you are actually MORE creepy than the men. These are women, not children — and the mental gymnastics you do to avoid facing squarely what you have been participating in makes cheerleading look amateur.
What a bunch of disgusting people.
6
Pathetic.
1
She is no more than a madam, pimping out these girls. Shameful.
3
Ms. Jojokian conducts herself much more like a brothel Madame than a mama bear. These talented and beautiful women deserve so much better!
4
What scum. Snyder should be kicked out of the league. All those craven perverts with money who voyeured should be outed as well. In this case, I hope the sue the team back into the stoneage.
2
Several NFL teams don't employ cheerleaders; maybe it's time for the remaining teams to follow suit. Touchdown!
3
Boycott professional baseball and, in the fall professional football, until the greedy owners understand that this is NOT acceptable.
They do not OWN players or cheerleaders. They must be blackballed and stripped of their stolen wealth right now.
2
Seriously...”cheerleading”??? These are not ignorant women and yes, they do have choices unless someone put a gun to their heads. Posing topless or “dressed” only in body paint...and they are shocked to be asked to escort some of the men attending? Time to re-think the bottom line. Professional sports cheerleaders of this ilk do nothing to cheer or lead. They are simply satisfying some small group’s fantasy. When I attend NBA games it’s almost embarrassing to watch these women who gyrate in the same tired pole dance moves and get next to no applause or recognition from the audience of fans. It’s painful as a woman spectator to watch this degrading spectacle. Move on ladies.
6
Drop cheerleaders from football and replace them with unisex dance competition teams. They can face off for an annual year end trophy, just like the football players.
4
Monetizing your own beauty can be a risky business. There will always be Trumps, Weinsteins, etc to bully and take advatage, then buy their way clear when trouble comes.
I don't wish this for my daughters
5
I think it is time to look at FedEx. They are the sponsors who support this abuse of women and they were one of the few sponsors to stay with the NRA.
The misogyny and apathy is stunning
5
Art Rooney, owner of the Steelers, experimented with cheerleaders for 1 year. He knew that someday in the future this would lead to trouble and he stopped the program and his sons have followed his lead. He must have seen the "Me Too" movement coming. He was a visionary. I cannot believe how many people still blame the victim in these circumstance. Daniel Snyder treats women like he does native Americans. It might be time to kick him out of the NFL altogether.
6
Complaining about the requirements of a job based on shameless exploitation of one’s sexuality is a bit much. People must know that all actions have consequences, intended or otherwise.
1
This is anything but normal behavior from any type of organization which bills itself as being 'professional'. The fact that these young women were clearly being taken advantage of for their looks, youthful exuberance, and naivete solely for the purposes of personal profit; sexual conquest; and/or corporate greed makes this whole situation even more abhorrent.
How the NFL can still bill professional cheerleading as being family friendly is beyond me. Most squads are well past the point of simple pom-poms, mid-thigh skirts, and knee-highs-- for all intents and purposes, the NFL is selling sex, wrapped in paid patriotism, clouded in a shroud of glaring player safety issues (concussions and its effect on CTE), masquerading as a multi-billion dollar enterprise.
6
Oh! In that case... Now I'll stop feeling any sort of sympathy for retired players who are diagnosed with CTE after their playing careers are over, are unable to hold steady jobs as a result, and aren't compensated by the NFL. I mean, they knew what they were getting into, right? Committing suicide is just part of the job, I suppose, and they knew what they were selling all along. Maybe if they had been better players, they'd have the shoe contracts to care for them into retirement.
2
What an opportunity. I am sorry once again, that I didn't go to law school, and then practice law. These cheerleaders need a really good law firm. And criminal charges should be pressed by Attorney Generals. The NFL is trafficking in the sex trade. That is exactly what these men did when they took away the passports of these young women, and then ordered them to perform topless and act as escorts.
David Lindsay Jr. is the author of "The Tay Son Rebellion, Historical Fiction of Eighteenth-century Vietnam," and blogs at TheTaySonRebellion.com and InconvenientNews.wordpress.com
6
Not sure I fully understand the problem. Did they know going in there would be a nude/semi-nude photo shoot? If not, then I would definitely say the NFL needs to be held accountable. If they knew they would be doing nude/semi-nude photographs and didn't want to and were not under contract to do so then it's important to say no and do what needs to be done to enforce their rights. Even an average lawyer is going to get a major settlement given the publicity backlash.
The photos were not going to remain private or unpublished. I don't care what they were told and I don't believe anyone involved would be naive enough to think otherwise.
Is Kim Kardashian the only one who knows how this game is played?
3
The problem wasn't so much the photo shoot, more the fact that strange men were allowed to be spectators at the shoot. And later, the cheerleaders had to go on dates with the same men who watched them posing topless. That is at a minimum totally creepy, unprofessional, and possible illegal considering that's a hostile work environment and the women were also not paid for the hours they spent posing for the calendar.
About that topless photo shoot with photos that weren't going to be used for the calendar - "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." Uhhh - I think it would have been a concern no matter what.
6
Appalling. --But if you're not grown up enough to say, NO, you may not have my passport and NO, I will not go naked--maybe you're not old enough to be walking around on your own anyway.
Here's how it works: if you don't let them get away with it, eventually they give up.
5
Eliminate cheerleading.
Even better shut down the NFL. No difference between the NFL and the Roman gladiator shows where people or animals or both were mutilated and/or killed.
The brain injuries in the NFL are worse - a slow lingering death with vastly impaired faculties is the true price for the big paycheck.
5
The first three paragraphs of this story actually made me physically sick. This is little better than human traffic. Revolting.
6
Why have cheerleaders at all? If we're going to be so upset at "topless" at minimum, they are already half-nude at games dancing in front of tens of thousands of drunk or semi-drunken men.
3
Sports and the Republicans over decades became swamps.
2
I smell a, "Me Too" class action lawsuit coming and deservedly so!
2
I have been a fan of the Washington football team (I stopped using its offensive nickname a few years ago) since they traded Norm Snead to get Sonny Juergenson. While the team has had it's moments - Super Bowl victories in the '80's and early '90's - the reign of their current owner Daniel Snyder has been an outright disaster. Like most football fans, I think cheerleaders for a professional sports team are a distraction at best and at their worst, like here, an embarrassment. What makes it all the more ridiculous is the fact that the team has a year's long waiting list for season ticket ownership so there isn't even a need to "fire up the base" by having barely dressed, attractive young women shaking their bodies at games and other places.
1
I'm not sure what disturbs me most, the fact of human trafficking being supported by the NFL or that these women who have so little self esteem they are willing to accept this level of abuse. Let's face it, any woman's acceptance of these conditions is absurd - this isn't a situation of not being able to quit the job because you have no other means of employment and need to support a family. These "jobs" with their required cash outlays for uniforms, their unpaid personal appearances, are a vanity project for both the women and the league.
4
Come on, NFL, isn't destroying the lives of young men through concussions enough? You're now going after the dignity of women.
4
Besides the rampant objectification of these women, this seems to be a clear cut abuse of labor laws, given that "the cheerleaders were paid nothing beyond transportation costs, meals and lodging". Sad and appalling.
5
Would YOU want your daughter in this line of work? Lose the cheerleaders, they're being used and not respected.
3
What in the world is wrong with men?! And for that matter, what is wrong with the cheerleaders who, without the spectators, wouldn't have minded the stripped poses? Let's hear it for baseball! No cheerleaders!
3
I have been to Costa Rica three times. Each time has been for eco-tourism. Since 2003, my second trip, I have avoided San Jose as much as possible. I am gay, and learned long ago where not to go in that city, and country. I know of a New York City super- IT-salesman/manager who works for an Israeli-based firm who planned a bonus week "getaway" to a notorious hotel replete with promises to his top earners. Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica. It is well known, and has been for quite some time. I do not understand how in 2013, these cheerleaders were so naive as to not know what the parties would entail.
2
It has nothing to do with naivete - their passports were taken when they arrived. Undoubtedly these women believed their participation in these activities could make or break not only their job but also possibly their easy exit back to America. What would YOU do if you showed up in a foreign country for a work assignment and your employer took your passport? And then as the trip progressed required you to do more and more sexually explicit things that should NEVER be a part of your job?
How can anyone aspire to be a NFL cheerleader and think that the role is about anything other than sexual titillation for men? The costumes alone tell you all that you need to know.
2
Here's hoping a sexual harassment suit is filed as a result of this story. These woman were treated no different than professional escorts.
2
As usual there is a reasonable middle ground here. What the team did is despicable (but probably not illegal) and if it doesn’t make you cringe you should question your moral compass. Should the cheerleaders have said no? Absolutely. While some lacking personal responsibility is in play here a lot of people (men & women) don’t feel like they can say no in these situations due to the underlying culture or subtle threats. This is another great example of where a union would fill the gaps in an area where workers feel like they have no voice or protection. If the players union actually believes in what they are preaching they must organize this sector of the NFL with no hesitation or mercy.
3
They took their passports?? That sounds criminal to me! What possible justification can there be for collecting passports? That makes this human trafficking in my eyes, whether actual sex was demanded or not. These women were right to feel pimped out. I hope readers of this will boycott the Redskins (seriously? they still use that name? seriously?). The way professional cheerleaders are hardly payed and heavily controlled is an affront to decency anyway.
6
Where is the gun that was put to their heads forcing these women to be cheerleaders?
With real exploitation facing women in so many areas of business, with unequal pay for equal work, with blatant sexism in fields where wearing next to nothing and jumping up and down with pom-poms in front of 65,000 people was not part of the deal, I just cannot muster up any sympathy for this story.
2
Yuk. Women being treated as commodities. So rich old (white?) men can feel like they're hot enough to get near them.
2
Did anyone ask the Redskin management if the women were ordered to strut around top less. That alone should confirm intent.
No big deal. We live in a world that will always be dominated by men. The cheerleaders had a choice to become cheerleaders. Oh I know, some liberal will be offended but tough. So don’t go to the games.
You want my passport, no way, oh then I have to leave? See ya.
No I am not going to some private event with sponsors. Oh so I have to leave? See ya.
It's called personal responsibility. Something that is apparently only necessary for men.
Interestingly it is men (the responsible gender?) who target young women and groom them to accept/believe that this type of exploitation is acceptable by starting with small requests. I would think a beloved football franchise would want to respect and protect the young women who work so hard in support of their team. Apparently objectifying and exploiting them is acceptable though.
5
As the US Supreme Court considers Janus v. AFSCME, I recommend a union to the cheerleaders. Organize. DO IT. Ask for help in doing it.
As the government (IL, WI, trump's henchmen) try to destroy unions, we are gaining strength. They are what made our middle class strong and healthy.
3
Everyone who wants to brush off sexual exploitation as “no big deal” because some form of contract should be ashamed of themselves. Perhaps it would be OK to literally prostitute cheerleaders, as long as it’s legal and in a contract? Is that what you want associated with your team? What does it say to the women fans knowing this is the standard: “welp, it’s in the contract, nothing to see here?”
Whether consent by contract was there (and real consent obviously was not), turning halftime into a pornographic show isn’t football and should not be.
2
We should all boycott FedEx and the NFL until all cheerleaders are protected by a union or even better, that NFL cheerleading squads are disbanded altogether. The entire concept is morally bankrupt, degrading to women and exploitative. It has always made me uncomfortable to see my young sons watch a football game, seeing these hyper-sexualized women cheering, knowing they are barely paid, while the men on and off the field are paid millions, showing my sons a demented view of the value of women.
The sexploitation here is just staggering.
Zero regard for the dignity of fellow-human beings.
Leaning in to objectification, instead of the opposite.
I think the most severe discipline is in order here, as far up the management hierarchy as there is 'scienter', for this disgraceful episode.
1
Hmmm, so they require their female employees to pose nude and act as escorts, but forbid their male employees from expressing their first amendment rights by kneeling during a game. What a perverse moral system Snyder and his cronies, and dare I say our president, live in.
8
The bigger question is why do we need NFL cheerleaders? And let's get rid of them in the NBA as well. Put the focus on the game and the players where it belongs.
If men want to see women dance half-naked, let them go to an adults-only club.
3
This is unbelievable - not to mention unsafe, unethical, immoral and beyond any employment requirement. I hope these women file a massive lawsuit and make every single person who came up with "cheerleaders as escorts" pays.
2
Stephanie Jojokian: With intended respect, because readers don't know everything from reading a news article. But, it implies that you are either 'naive' about your role with the squad or very jaded (I suspect the latter). Either way, you should not be overseeing these women. If you weren't actually on location, then you have no idea what actually went on. But in the role you took on, you should have known. In my experience, women usually protect other women. In this respect, I fear that you fell short... which means you shouldn't be doing this.
3
I wonder how the men who are "escorted" here feel about this. Are they happy to have a "captive audience" for themselves? Can they not find their own dates without coercion? Or do they look in the mirror and see the "greatest one of all"??
2
It seems the only purpose of cheerleaders is to be sex objects for men’s entertainment, so I think it is part of the job description?
Another reason why I respect the Green Bay Packers. No professional cheerleading squad since 1988!
3
Reminiscent of Trump walking into the dressing rooms of the beauty contestants in various stages of undress.
3
All cheerleaders should take a knee during the National Anthem.
5
Yes, this all seems demeaning. Yes, I am sure the women felt pressured. How have we gotten to the point where just quitting a demeaning job seems so difficult. No one has to be a cheerleader, it’s not a secret that these are sexualized demeaning activities. Quit and get a job where your other talents are valued. If the women all left these jobs, this football tradition would die, as it should.
3
I would say that the Redskins are in big, big trouble. This is exactly why the Mara and Tisch family owners of the Giants refuse to hire cheerleaders. Thank goodness there are sane owners like them amid the glitz of the N.F.L.
3
We need to get rid of capitalism, we need to break the male grip on money and power.
1
Socialism and communism haven't done it. What's your suggestion?
1
Until Roger Goodall is a Chippendale, this activity has to stop.
1
In a blood sport that is little more than gladiator combat, why is anyone surprised that these women are treated as titillating prizes of battle for the Nero's of the owners and sponsors class? They ought to be paid handsomely for their "services rendered". It's unbelievable that they would be so naive to expect anything else from the relationship.
The Redskins and the NFL are turning a blind eye to this alleged mistreatment and sexism and they’ve fumbled in their statements to The NY Times. All people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect when they are working, even when they’re not paid! I guess it’s not surprising at a franchise that continues to bear a name that is racist and offensive. They deserve a penalty and the cheerleaders deserve better.
Besides the horribly offensive name Redskins, I don't understand why any woman in today's world would subject themselves to that kind of abusive treatment. Just quit. Resign, after you file a lawsuit.
2
Some NFL teams namely the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers do not have cheerleaders to whip up the crowd. The Steelers have their Terrible Towel and the the Packers wear cheeseheads and celbrate with the Lambeau Leap. Neither of these teams need cheerleaders
If teams included male cheerleaders how might they be exploited by the teams' management ?
Sick. Sick. Sick.
It saddes me to think that any woman wants to be a "cheerleader" for BiG sports when they are clearly just used as sex symbols. Like the women who drape their scantily-clad bodies over cars at BIG racing events.
Every single woman - and man that loves them - should boycott this team's games and put them out of business. Women, do not allow greedy men to exploit you this way. It must end.
This kind of behavior is NOT acceptable.
4
This quote near the end of the article says a great deal:
"She added: “No sponsor is worth these children’s safety and well-being at all."
Children? This article was about adults and to the best of my knowledge all of the cheerleaders are adults.
Adult women, and well as men, should be treated as adults, including being held responsible for their actions.
Maybe it is long past time to consider women adults with agency. After all, equality has three parts: Equal rights, equal responsibility, and equal accountability. Women have equal rights, as they should have, but it is now time to consider that both men and women should have the same responsibilities and equal accountability.
2
I don't watch NFL games for a number of reasons, but I always assumed that cheering for the NFL was a way to an MRS degree. Much exposure to wealthy patrons, some of them reasonable potential partners. Or was I wrong and is it all just for the love of 'dance'?
2
What happens now? I believe the stories of the abused cheerleaders here, rather than all the usual excuses. (My favorite is Teel’s “I have five sisters.”)
Using the non-disclosure agreements to sue, or just threaten, poorly paid and treated cheerleaders would hopefully damage Redskin management in the court of public opinion. I hope this has serious ramifications for Redskin management even beyond that.
4
Let's get rid of these non-disclosure agreements, they're a license to abuse employees. Daylight is the best disinfectant.
1
So is this a case for de-sexualizing cheerleading? Is that even possible under contemporary cultural views? There is no rule against women appearing on the playing field. There is no rule against men appearing on the sidelines to cheer. People seem to prefer the athletic performance of men on the field, the cheerleading performance of women on the sidelines. Are the people all wrong about all that? Who has standing to tell people that their preferences are not legit?
1
So it's OK to require cheerleaders to appear nude?
The ancient Romans thought that watching guys fight each other to the death or watching Christians be torn to death by wild animals was good, wholesome family entertainment. In England in the old days, people came from far and wide for the fun of a public hanging. No PC busybodies were there to tell them that this was wrong. Oh, for the good old days, right?
Why is this an issue? The cheerleaders fully understood the nature of their jobs when they accepted them. I realize why, if we want to be good political team players, we must pretend to be shocked. After all, we must be fair and balanced. Unfortunately, this "me too" nonsense is going to cost Democratic candidates more votes than it gains for them. And we do absolutely need to take the House and the Senate this November.
5
Unless you have a copy of their contract that expressly sets forth that each woman has contractually agreed to "escort" men to dinners and events, be photographed nude, and do all without pay, and when traveling, must give up their passports so they cannot make decisions on their own to leave, then you may have something to discuss about "cheerleaders fully understood the nature of their jobs." But until you can present evidence that professional cheerleaders have contractually agreed to be treated as sex objects, forced to stay in situations because they don't get to keep their own passports and identification, and do all without pay, your comments are baseless and demeaning.
141
My point, if I may clarify it, is that we seem to think that in order to pile it onto Trump for his sexual trophy-collection, we must also go after every other sexually normal male. We should, perhaps, stick to the real issues with regard to Trump -- his utter incompetence, and what I believe is not merely "collusion" but outright treason. Oh, and we need to start thinking about how we will go about controlling President Pence, once Trump is removed from office.
1
I'm guessing that prostitution never made it into the job description. There's just about zero chance that any of them signed up to be escorts. Why would anyone expect that? I know a few cheerleaders and none of them think that that their role encompasses stripping for superfans.
3
"In online video interviews in the past, the cheerleaders were asked, 'Describe your perfect date' and 'What’s the first thing you notice about a man?'”
This is football?
4
The only sport I follow is Politics. The rest are idiot feed.
Stop with the clutching of pearls.
If the women agreed, and it was not required as a condition of continued employment, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Many probably enjoyed the prospect of increased exposure (pun partially intended) to wealthy men.
So much for empowered women capable of making their own strong decisions.
8
I have learned that when ever I agreed to work for an employer, a contract would describe what I was expected to do and what I would receive for doing it.
Without exception once the employment began, the employer always attempted to expand the job requirements without increasing the remuneration. I believe this is human nature. Sometimes this conflict can be resolved. Often not.
This is why you need to have a plan B when the new expectations are too much for you to endure.You need to quit and move on.. There are not enough lawyers in the universe to adjudicate this situation for every employed person. I am truly sorry about that. A job is a lot like a marriage. Often it doesn't work out to each party's satisfaction. You need to be prepared to move on if that is the case.
This advice and understanding should be required in all graduation commencement addresses.
8
I'm one of 380,000 team owners of the Green Bay Packers, one of 5 or 6 teams that don't have cheer squads. If you're at a home game, you'll see unisex cheer squads borrowed from UW Green Bay, or St. Norbet's leading cheers. They wear loose tracksuits in green and gold which are also the college school colors, and lead cheers. There are no calendars. No mention of the cheer teams on the website.
So many NFL teams have gone off the rails in selling the women of their cheer squads. The fans should be appalled.
58
Yeah, I know. There are few places more boring than Green Bay. Even the local NFL franchise hasn't been able to jazz it up in spite of using unremunerated "unisex" cheerleaders. Go figure.
Totally agree. Somewhere along the line professional cheerleading became far too sexualized, and the way it's described here it's practically nothing to do with the actual game of football.
1
We’ve come a long way from the days when the cheerleaders were the wives of the guys in the band. Just one more thing that as a Redskins fan you cannot be proud of. It would be great if this helped to set things in motion that would lead to Dan Snyder finally selling the team!
4
It's time to give the NFL a reset. The liberals aren't happy because the players don't get a free pass to take a knee during the National Anthem. The feminists are in uproar over the mistreatment of cheerleaders and then there's the real issue of brain injuries caused by playing the game. The days of watching the game for the athleticism, the superhuman plays, pretty girls and insightful commentary have pretty much ground to a halt. Nobody is having fun anymore, the players, cheerleaders or fans, so let's just pack up, go home for awhile and try to make sense of this mess. There's always the golf channel. No ongoing controversies there.
9
Yet.
(PLEASE USE THIS "EDITED" VERSION!)
This story sounds remarkably similar to a previous NY Times article about Hugh Hefner's 'wife' and how she and other 'playboy bunnies' were mistreated. Women with the right 'looks' (Often altered by plastic surgery) are still being 'bought and sold,' treated like cattle. In the "land of the 'free" these women are surely not. These women are still being demeaned, manipulated and exploited in the same way as the women at the "played-girls mansion where they led controlled, restricted lives with ridiculous 'curfews' & constant extreme security.
In this case, these women are expected to unquestioningly act outside the scope of their job description. Their employers show zero regard for them, Women in both cases were expected to subjugate themselves to 'perform' and 'accommodate' to men they didn't know, whom they may not want to be with. They've just been treated like attractive 'meat,' bait to lure the lurid, fodder for the 'highest bidder, for the owner's profit.
These women should unionize. get full financial disclosure about how much profit their 'owner' is 'raking in' from exploiting them. Time to stop this pattern of women being 'Miss-used' and exploited for their physical appearance.
In the land of the 'free' stop women from being demeaned, devalued , objectified and 'enslaved'
5
RE: "It’s such a supportive environment for these ladies.”
Right.
I don't know if Stephanie Jojokian is delusional or good at deception in her position as house mother.
" I would never put a woman in a situation like that."
But how supportive was the "mandatory team-bonding boat trip. ...[On a] a yacht with several men aboard — including a familiar face, William R. Teel Jr."? Where "you could make a lot of money there if you wanted,” “But that was not for me, and lots of us felt the same way. But we were too scared to complain. We felt that our place on the team would be compromised if we did.”
Too scared to complain. Yet Ms. Jojokian claims she "actually mentors these women to be strong and to speak up,"
6
Shocking that a football team still called "The Redskins" would be disrespectful of a whole class of people.
35
Amen, Paula. Oddly the team's owner has never accepted my invitation to go into a bar on a reservation and call the patrons "redskins," despite his claims it's a totally okay name for native Americans.
2
So many comments focus on the women: how they felt, whether they knew what they were getting into. But what about an organization that acts this way? What company would consider this to be appropriate behavior?
14
These women are clearly being abused. They need a union, they need protection and security and they need much, much better pay and working conditions. However, they also embody an incredible contradiction. The NFL cheerleaders are clearly sex workers. They dress provocatively; their dance routines are very athletic and skilled but also, clearly, highly sexualized (I watched a youtube video of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders performing and it is remarkable in this respect). So, they occupy a bizarre grey area; their entire purpose is to be sexually provocative but, at the same time, they are supposed to be insulated from the obvious sexual fallout of their jobs. In one sense, they are like exotic dancers/strippers, who enjoy a certain amount of protection while on the job; at the same time, however, an awful lot of strippers slip into the prostitution side of their profession. The tension between what the cheerleaders are and what they are purported to be by their teams is simply too great to reconcile.
134
I've been searching "confiscation of U.S. passports" and all I can find is that it is legal for an official of a foreign country to confiscate a U.S. passport if there is suspicion of criminal activity. I'm sure it is somewhat more complicated. I think it is illegal for "Mama Bear" or any other employee of a company (like the NFL) to seize the cheerleaders' passports.
I travel abroad frequently and I never allow anyone to keep my passport (for example, in the hotel's safe). I would feel like a hostage. And I feel that these cheerleaders were being held as hostages.
Perhaps someone can clarify as I am astounded that the article does not mention this transgression.
15
Passports were NOT confiscated! It is normal procedure when sports team travel abroad for ALL the passports, not only the cheerleaders,to be collected and held for the trip back home. This is done to prevent them from being lost or stolen resulting in someone not being able to return with the group as planned. Ask any athlete who has traveled abroad with any college or professional sports team. There is nothing sinister or unusual in that aspect of this story. Anyone who needs to leave earlier or later simply has to ask to get their passport back.
2
It would be interesting to see how many of these women posted social media updates from Costa Rica, and the tone of those posts.
People now look at their phones during breaks in the action, not the cheerleaders. Teams will eliminate these squads over the next few years, as a good portion of their fan base becomes more vocal.
3
I'd be just as happy if they eliminated football entirely. I used to love it when I was younger, but it's now clear that it's too dangerous.
2
I'm not trying to blame the victims here, but I'm trying to understand this story. Why didn't the women just refuse to take off their clothes? Were they threatened in some way? They could have simply stayed in their rooms, with the doors locked, couldn't they? Why did they willingly hand over their passports? So what if they lost their jobs--surely, no job is worth being exploited in that way. I have read the accounts of this event and the other comments, but I simply don't see why the women participated. Were they made to hand over their phones as well? Couldn't they alert family and friends about what was going on? Couldn't they phone the Costa Rican police or the U.S. embassy?
16
Thank you- that was my reaction too. In the time of #me too- where have these women been? Too busy practicing cheers to watch tv to hear the news? Ashley Judd, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Andrea Constant? I don’t want to blame the victims- but really...
1
Sitting in the comfort of your home it's remarkably easy to tell other people they should quit their jobs.
David - Cheerleading isn't a full time job. Most of the women have other jobs or are students. An article in Money magazine earlier this year said, on average, NFL cheerleader make only between $75 -$125 per game, and about $50 for personal appearances. The article points out that the women who went to Costa Rica were paid nothing, beyond rooms, food & airfare. I think they could afford to quit these jobs, especially because they are exploited in such a disgusting way.
Those saying the cheerleaders knew what they signed up for sound suspiciously like people who claim that sexual assault victims were "asking for it" by wearing a low-cut top.
16
Baloney.
None of these women were assaulted. They were treated as sex objects. Any fool should have known, going in, that this was an endeavor in which the main object was to be a sex object--all you have to do is watch the games on Sunday to know that. And there was an easy way out if they felt uncomfortable: quit. Get on the phone, book a flight home, get your passport back (and, sorry, I have trouble believing that the team would have withheld a passport from anyone who wanted to leave), and go home. That's it, in a nutshell.
Two cheerleaders who were there (and whom the team espoused) said there was nothing untoward. The Times talked to five cheerleaders who said otherwise. No names were used. I don't know if this is yellow journalism or Redskin journalism, but it is not the journalism I expect from NYT. Can't wait for this "issue" to be over so we can move on to bigger and better things, such as the next guest on the Jerry Springer show.
If this is how it is, don't be a cheerleader.
10
Why would any woman subject herself to this demeaning treatment ? This is a perfect example why cheerleading at professional sporting events should be eliminated. They serve absolutely no purpose, and are taken advantage of every step of the way. It's about professional football, not sex objects !
10
Cheerleading is obviously not a good job for women. Maybe teams should hire male cheerleaders, and the women can stay in school and go into management. Just as parents are rethinking football as a sport for their boys, parents should also rethink cheerleading as an activity for girls. Brain injury or training for pole dancing and night work? We can do better.
10
GO NYTIMES! Few other publications would pick up such a story. And, may this be attributed to all of the women during and long prior to #MeToo who suffered, were ignored and endured unequal, unfair and unacceptable labor practices for simply being women.
Shame on the NFL!
9
Is waving scantily dressed cheerleaders at fat, boozy fans any dopier than the mania the U.S. has for watching other people play sports? And should we be shocked or surprised that these women are exploited?
Those are really tough calls.
6
certainly not an isolated incident
3
Interesting that Jojokian called herself "mama bear." In East Asia, she'd be called a mama-san.
7
They should not have cheer leaders.
5
the act of confiscating the cheerleaders' passports for "security reasons" is constant with human trafficking...
24
It is also standard operating procedure for sports teams traveling abroad to hold the passports of EVERYONE in their group. This is done to prevent them from being lost or stolen resulting in the person not being able to return with the group as planned. Nothing unusual about that aspect of this story. Trying to equate it with human trafficking is quite the stretch and demeans real victims of trafficking.
The whole concept of female cheerleaders seems like a throwback to 1950s or might that be the 1850s. Posing topless, hostesses at special gatherings - this is clearly exploitation and both a public apology and end to the sexism would be appropriate.
5
I don't know what the team is paying Ms. Jojokian (and that would have been good to include in the article, if possible) but the team is definitely getting its money's worth.
4
It sounds like this was all voluntary. These women are adults and have the ability to say no. Women have to take responsibility for their actions and have only themselves to blame if they do something they later regret.
4
In the one hand, this makes me feel ill. On the other hand, why do these women work at such low paying demeaning jobs? They have other options.
4
The NFLPA should take the cheerleaders under their wing and factor them in negotiations - and provide them leverage against systematic mistreatment.
Even with the breast cancer campaign and all the pink gear, I remain unconvinced that the NFL and team owners truly care about women and, instead, manipulate them into serving their own special interests.
4
NFL team owners. Where #MeToo meets the 1%.
5
With the way they're treated, it's a wonder they can find enough wannabes willing to put up with it...
2
Sounds like the free market working just fine. If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. More fake news in my opinion.
6
Perfect example of the definition of “fake news”: A factual presentation of information which contradicts my prejudices. So you believe that there is no expectation of decency in human relationships and any form of exploitation or dehumanization is justified because the victim has a potential “out”. Does this also apply to the many of us whose escape from a terrible job is, at best, theoretical, such as, say, a single parent in a chicken processing plant, or an office clerk? Do you treat wait-staff at a restaurant as chattel, simply because you can? DISGUSTING!
1
Several commenters have expressed dismay that some of the opinions expressed here are "blaming the victims." I think it's more accurate to say that many of us believe that these young women need to take responsibility for the choices they made. The alternative to treating them as grown women who are responsible for the stupid choices they've made - such as not saying no to a nude photo shoot if they were uncomfortable with it - is to consider them helpless girl children who need to be protected. Do they want to be adults and treated as equals in the world, or do they want to be children?
If we expect, as women, to not be responsible for our choices then we relinquish our right to take our place as equals.
10
Yet another article about cheerleaders.......wow
As far as I can see, no one is wing forced into this "profession". Couldn't they quit? Couldn't they simply say no and walk away?
I fail to see what all the hype and fervor is all about.
Move on.
6
It’s about human decency and the Golden Rule! Move On, indeed!
1
Please let this be enough to force Snyder to sell the team.
What do we expect from a team that has zero sensitivity to the racist implications of their team name? Unfortunately, racism and sexism are siblings. Time for our nation's capitol to grow up about their despicable role in spreading racism and sexism.
6
There is no innocent reason for confiscating the passports. This is abominable.
7
Imagine if the team's players were whisked off to a fantasy location and forced to mud wrestle in speedos for the entertainment of sponsors. What would be the difference? Think all the NFL defenders commenting would be ok with that?
And for those armchair quarterbacks who would argue that players are hired for their "talent" and not their bodies, I suggest getting up and trying some handstands.
3
Low pay, poor working conditions, demeaning women and if you don't like it there's plenty more willing to take your place. Why it's a virtual Republican paradise. I guess those big tax cuts owners got haven't trickled down yet. Don't hold your breath waiting.
9
Saddest part? Perhaps 40% (one hopes not more) of Americans would find all this totally acceptable. But of course, they won't be reading this article, anyway...
4
Collecting their passports and requiring them to run around nude or semi-nude and escort "important" men -- why hasn't someone been charged with kidnapping and/or human trafficking?
Note to NFL: GET RID OF CHEERLEADERS. It's a disgusting throwback to a time most of us hope has long passed.
4
How about the networks that broadcast NFL games step up to the plate and STOP doing cutaway shots of cheerleaders.
1
Taking someone to a foreign country and seizing their passport is kidnapping.
3
While I think cheerleading is weird many women and girls embrace it . I would out law it as it borders on chauvinism but some will say its a opportunity .
Im confused, what else is new in this modern age of confusion
1
It takes two to tango. For eons, men have responded to women who act and dress as sex objects. Men aren’t going to change. If women don’t want to be treated as sex objects, they should stop playing the part.
3
Shocking! Who would have suspected such a thing could happen! Egads!!
2
Yikes! If I had a daughter that was one of the cheerleaders, I would have punched someone in the nose. As far as director Jojokian in concerned, she may care for the girls, but their welfare is definitely not her first priority. Her job is to have them in shape and available for the organization to utilize as they please.
1
This is a great example of feminist extremism at work. Well done.
2
I would like to know what the author of this article means by this line: “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.”
Why does she assume that being told to pose nude “would not have been a concern” if there were no audience for the photo shoot? It sounds concerning to me. These women had their passports confiscated as a means of control and were then forced to participate in borderline pornography and prostitution.
The Redskins and the cheerleading industry need to be investigated.
3
What was the purpose of the topless photos the women were required to pose for? They were told the photos were not for the calendar. Then what? Want to bet the nude photos are handed out to the creepy old men / sponsors to show the ownership's gratitude for lining their pockets.
4
"These children's safety?" Did she just call grown women "children?" Do we need any more proof of how women internalize and normalize the infantilization of adult women?
"A spokesman for the N.F.L. said the league office “has no role in how the clubs which have cheerleaders utilize them.”
The obvious question here is--why not?
5
Other journalists at NYT should read this article. This is one of the more we’ll balanced articles on these issues that I have read in NYT.
1
This story is not only exhibit A for eliminating cheerleaders but for eliminating football. The whole football culture is the poorest example for our children (and our adults). Violence, greed, racism, misogyny and permanent head injuries to young persons- every Sunday. End it and end it now.
4
These ladies need to stop referring to themselves as"girls". It's derogatory and perpetuates the stereotype.
1
Our culture has become more of a business. How can we connect, how can we share. Where is the opportunity, the efficiency, the profit.
Women should toughen up, so we can do stuff with strangers, tell our daughters its ok to ride in cars with strangers, go on dates with strangers. Statistically we probably won't end up as a victim, in the back of a car, or now that everyone is texting and driving.
1
"At the end of the night, at about 2 or 3 a.m., the women returned to the waiting van, only to be stopped by several police officers who asked for their passports. They did not have them because the team had taken possession of them upon arrival. (The Redskins said it was team policy to collect passports for all international travel as a security precaution.)"
Whose security?
8
I would prefer that teams not have cheerleaders. But to the extent that NFL teams have them, the NFL better get its act together and establish clear and reasonable standards for pay and the behavior of teams towards these women. This has become a big black eye for the NFL. The message the NFL seems to be sending these days is that they’ll treat our mothers like saints (during Breast Cancer Awareness Month) but will treat our daughters like meat.
22
Redskins managers - who cling to an offensive name to please their fans, have proven themselves to be pimps: they sold the rights to watch the cheerleaders, and sold them as escorts. A non-disclosure agreement should not protect them from exposure and lawsuits, if not prosecution.
It also makes my skin crawl, that the women did not coalesce as a group and refuse to cooperate with their exploitation. They are not slaves. SO , they might be fired? And they are sticking with the team? It's as if the cheerleaders groups are like brainwashing cults.
11
If they weren’t cheerleaders they’d be waiting tables. This is not a job they want to lose.
4
The players have a union. Unions foster professionalism. If the cheerleaders want to be treated as professionals, they have to organize. Otherwise, they'll just complain anonymously as in this article. A union contract would include working conditions as well as wages, overtime wages, job descriptions, and benefits such as health insurance, sick leave, pensions, etc.
12
If this is story is accurate, heads should roll & the league should ban all of the bigshots who signed-off on this. I'm sure they wouldn't stay unemployed for long, though; Trump would probably find them cabinet positions in no time.
21
The way the Redskins team treated its cheerleaders is outrageously disrespectful and demeaning. I'm surprised that these women were treated so poorly, but I'm not surprised that the Redskins did this. The owner Dan Snyder is man without principle or respect for others. He is obsessed with monetizing every aspect of the team, so it's not surprising that the team's cheerleaders had to make themselves to team sponsors as a service.
It's time for the NFL to respect cheerleaders by giving them decent pay and benefits along with the right to collectively bargain. It's time for the NFL to stop dehumanizing the people who work for it.
17
These “cheerleaders” are exploited at every game. Just watch them if you can stand it. Why are they there? To bring sex into a violent game.
Let's get real, folks. It's all about sex. All the teams do it. Let's ask why the women do it: money? Obviously not. Fame? Could be, if the right man sees them. Lack of education? More than likely.
I don't see that the women have anything to complain about since they signed up for it. They must have known what was on the agenda- just take a look at the costumes. It isn't exactly the Kirov Ballet.
10
Some teams don't have cheerleaders.
Women still cheer the team though...
6
Cheerleaders in Professional sports are nothing more than marketing expenses. No one comes to the game to see the cheerleaders. Also were the forced to give up their passports or did they do so voluntarily ? Why did they get on the plane? I guess it was fine to go on a photo shoot, like a model would, but they must have known they weren't getting paid. These "heart-wrenching" stories are ridiculous. These are adult women making a choice to be a sex object in a male dominated sport where many of the players abuse women. My question is ; Why would you take this job? Because you enjoy Cheering ?
13
Why take the job?
Well, it might be interesting to do a little research and see if there's data on how many players or other men connected with a pro football team marry cheerleaders.
I know a businessman for a well-known firm who proudly displays his now wife in her Dallas Cowboys cheerleader outfit right beside a photo of the now wife, three kids and himself.
Who can say?
1
The comment that the encounters "didn't involve sex", to be singularly unclear and unsupported. What does that mean? They weren't raped? That they weren't sexually harassed? That none of the women filed suit? Were the individual cheerleaders asked about their experiences for the article?
Furthermore it is hard to believe that these women were crying merely because the thought of having a drink with some nice old gentleman who kept his hands to himself was all that was going to be done expected.
Cheer-leading was sold to me as a way for women combine the sport of dance with acrobatic tricks, this is more just asking these women to turn tricks.
3
This is reminiscent of the Hollywood stag parties. Young women were seen as fair game and the parties only ended after a young woman was raped and then chose to fight back publicly. What a disgusting abuse of power in this day and age. By taking their passports these young women were trapped and had no option to flee from the situation.
6
Times change, things change, everything has a beginning and an end. The era of cheerleaders is over, NFL take note.
7
I think the era of the NFL is close to over.
Either do away with female cheerleaders or open the profession to men as well.
It's hard to see how this is fundamentally different from human trafficking for the sex industry. But that's not a coincidence. Look at the picture at the top of this article. No one can pretend that these women are not participating in a form of soft-core sexual entertainment. This story perfectly demonstrates that there is not just a superficial resemblance between professional football cheer-leading and the sex industry but that both exist on the same continuum. Unfortunately, as these cheerleaders have learned, whether "soft core" or "hard core," an industry that exploits women's bodies for the sexual titillation of its customers is an inherently exploitative industry that will inevitably push women into ever more degrading acts as the customers become desensitized to (or bored with) mundane sex. That is the nature of the beast. It is no secret that women who appear in pornographic films have reported being pressured or coerced into performing acts that they felt uncomfortable with and did not sign up for. The experience of these cheerleaders is no different. I would vastly prefer that women themselves refuse to participate in any activity that is demeaning to them (and to other women) in the first place. But if they do participate, they should know in advance that the producers of this entertainment sooner or later will pressure them into more and more explicit, demeaning and depraved acts for the delectation of its customers.
8
Great comments from those who have chosen to comment.
In my (female, educated, and totally hot) opinion, there is no need (or room in our society) for beautiful underpaid women to prance about at football games and be objectified. Enough already. May we PLEASE move on?
5
Get the names of all the male sponsors who attended this event and publish them.
14
AND the companies they are affiliated with.
5
The Redskins owner must go. Time to change every sad thing about that team.
6
I am so done with pro football. So done.
7
The words and the actions of Ms. Jojokian and others associated with the NFL and FedEx in this article, are completely contradictory. Just because you say something emphatically, does not make it true. This story depicts institutionalized power, control and abuse. These very small people are controlling these women through abuse and fear and it’s disgusting. Anyone who supports the NFL or FedEx is complicit. I will never again watch or utilize either.
5
I agree wholeheartedly.
Ms. Jojokian, do you think allowing team officials to take away the cheerleaders’ passports upon arrival in a foreign country and offering them up as escorts to unfamiliar men is respectful? Do you think arranging “mandatory team-bonding” activities on a suite holder’s boat where cash prizes were handed out for twerking is respectful. That is pimp behavior. Mama Bear, you are complicit with the Redskin’s skeevy owner, Daniel Snyder, and you both need to do some serious soul searching.
Hey NFL, you may want to rethink your policy that you have no jurisdiction “in how the clubs which have cheerleaders utilize (nice word – *utilize*) them”. Start with mandating the cheerleaders are paid a decent wage. That’s respectful treatment. If that is not deemed possible, then dispense with all cheerleading squads.
1
“It breaks my heart because I’m a mom and I’ve done this for a long time,”
"I have five sisters,"
Neither of those things has anything to do with these accusations. Stop using your families to cover up your transgressions. There are lots of people out there with no families who would never do what you did.
23
On one hand - this is disgusting. And the cheerleaders should unionize for better working conditions and better pay. On the other hand, nobody twisted their arms to be cheerleaders. Is this really surprising? They are shopped around like meat, but they signed up for it and can quit if they don’t like it. The sad reality - with this and with the film industry, etc - is that there’s an infinite supply of women willing to participate because the potential upside is great (modeling / acting contracts; fame and fortune).
8
Why do cheerleaders go overseas to perform for the men who are in military service, much less travel to Costa Rica on yachts? Like the Miss America Pageant, we can certainly live without this 'service'.
6
Totally unacceptable and discusting behavior. Would these men do the same to their mothers? Of course not.
4
Absolutely and completely appalling.
8
This is outrageous. Taking someone's passport after getting them to travel to a foreign country is one of the most typical tactics of human traffickers. The fact that the women were then coerced to do topless and nude photos in front of voyeurs and provide involuntary "escort" services to leering men who'd paid for the opportunity seals it.
This is literally a case of human trafficking, which is a violation of US law and of US Government policy around the world. No joke. This is a matter for the US Attorney and the Grand Jury. If this is true as reported, the people who organized and implemented this abuse, should be investigated with a view to filing criminal charges.
10
I’ve never really understood the concept of skimpily clad girls doing jumps and dances at a sporting event. And why do women agree to do this? It’s painful to watch, which is why I stopped watching.
8
Men like to see it. Is that so hard to understand?
1
While I certainly disagree with this mistreatment of any female, I don’t think anyone forced them to take a cheerleading job or is forcing them to stay, correct?
No matter how athletic of a sport cheerleaders wish to try to make it, they must “get it” that they’re signing on for a highly glorified and sexualized role. I’m not giving their managers a free pass, but the words “no” and “I quit” are an option.
5
"No" and "I quit" don't work very well when you're in a foreign country and someone else is holding your passport, Steph.
Try it some time and let me know how well it goes for you.
Steph, have you ever tried to get out of Costa Rica (or any other country) without your passport?
Why would a woman sign up to be a cheerleader if they are treated this way?
3
"these children" -- that's a "TELL" . Ms Jojokian should be
offered full immunity and tell the truth. You don't need
cheerleaders when the players are going out and shaking
their brains into goo for our entertainment.
The cheerleaders are assembled to attach a team brand label
to a sleaze product. The least teams can do is pay them and
provide adequate health, safety, and workplace conditions.
4
To me the most disturbing part of this story is the bizarre complicity of Ms. Jojokian. She plays the den mother, intensely concerned with protecting her girls, but it is clearly only for the coming lawsuit. I can see the argument that she, like the cheerleaders, is also just trying to protect her job, but some things are too degrading to take part in.
6
If the photos used in the calendar did not depict nudity, I have two questions. First, why were topless and nude photos taken? Second, how were the nude photos used and/or distributed? Hopefully this story will further open people's eyes to what really happens behind the scenes of the NFL, partially funded by your tax dollars.
6
If the NFL's primary activity, football, can't carry its own weight, it should be allowed to die. The cheerleaders are gratuitous eye candy - nice, but they shouldn't be essential to the event. If they really are, and the filthy rich owners can't afford to pay them but can pay millions to "man mountains" on the field, then there is something wrong with the business model - or the game itself.
1
The article states there were women who were scared to complain because they could lose their spot on the cheerleader squad.
This confuses me.
They don't get paid.
They work hard
They are very talented
All I can see is reasons they would not want to be on the squad.
With all those reason not to be on it why the thought of not being on it would motivate someone not to complain.
These women are not stupid so I want to know why they want to be a cheerleader when hey could be doing something else,
3
Having been a HS principal, I fought for years attempting to curb the dress and dance routines of cheerleaders and dance groups. Both the girls and their mothers continually pushed the limits on how revealing they could make their uniforms and how salacious they could make their dance routines ---mine you, they were performing in front of hundreds of adolescent males---try to control that mixture at a sporting event. My efforts, of course, were mostly unsuccessful, since, the girls and their mothers could point to other schools in our conference whose attire and routines bordered on Playboy material. Unfortunately, my school board was more interested in pleasing parents then policing appropriate dress for teenage girls. All of this is to say, that the entire cheerleader/dance squad venue pushes females into situations that are just plain inappropriate.
9
This indeed is a very disturbing article and the Redskins cheerleading program should be investigated along with cheerleading programs in other teams.
Confiscating passports for security purposes? This is new to me! As all travelers will know, you ought to have your passport in your possession or at least able to get it when you need it, at all times when in a foreign country. This is your main form of identification.
I'm glad the NY Times reported on this.
5
“ 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.” And written by a woman! Of course it is a concern - it’s sexual exploitation and who ended up with the photos? A private calendar for the peeping toms? I want to know the names of the sponsors. Professional cheerleaders sell sex - the outfits are glorified underwear- appealing to male spectators. Years ago I told my daughter she could be anything she wanted - except a cheerleader.
3
Edited by a man, I’m sure. Don’t blame the woman.
Did any of the CL's request that their passports be returned and they be fetched back to USA immediately?...appearently not. These women are so turned on by their job that will accept any sort of abuse. I laugh in their general direction.
1
“Did any of the CL's request that their passports be returned and they be fetched back to USA immediately?...appearently not. These women are so turned on by their job that will accept any sort of abuse. I laugh in their general direction.”
Dear Heckler,
How nice you are so clairvoyant that you can read these women’s thoughts. I doubly commend you on your empathy as well. You are truly a stellar person!
This story sounds remarkably similar to a previous NY Times article about Hugh Hefner's 'wife' and how she and other 'playboy bunnies' were mistreated. Women with the right 'looks' (Often altered by plastic surgery) are being 'bought and sold,' treated like cattle.
In the land of the 'free' women are still being demeaned, manipulated and exploited as in the "played-girls mansion where women lead controlled, restricted lives with ridiculous 'curfews' & constant extreme security In this case, exploitative requirements require these women to act well outside the scope of their job description.
The 'employers' show zero regard for these women, like at the 'mansion' are expected to 'perform' and 'accommodate' to men they didn't know and don't want to be with, without question.
These women should unionize and require their employer to provide a full financial disclosure for just how much money these women's exploitation is profiting those 'in charge.'
Time to stop this pattern of women being miss used' and exploited for their physical appearance.
The fact is, these woman are being used and controlled in ways that is devaluing and demeaning. In a land where our motto is 'land of the free and home of the brave' the reality is that women are still being 'bought' for the profit of others and 'enslaved'
4
This country simply needs more women in power. It is clear.
2
Please - Jojokian is an enforcer, and a self-dealing one at that. Enabling a hostile working environment, feigning emotion when criticized, infantilizing adult women as if in high school, and embodying the archetypal dance "coach" - so antithetical to female empowerment. Some women do a better job of undermining female empowerment than most men ever could.
5
This groundbreaking story, the stuff Pulitzer’s are made of, will surely result in the mass abandonment of the NFL by young women forced into this demeaning and involuntary profession. Problem solved.
1
The only people who benefit from football are the NFL Owners.
- Women are shamelessly disrespected,
- Children are knowingly allowed to "play" a game that causes brain damage,
- Players are playing themselves to death, at least they are doing so wealthy.
- Fans are played, paying gobs of money to the NFL and thinking all of the above is ok.
NFL Owners are getting rich from all of this, and they are gaming anyone who goes along. Enough is enough already.
302
"The only people who benefit from football are the NFL Owners."
That statement is beyond ignorant. 10's of millions of people have benefited and do benefit from football that have never and will never, play or otherwise be associated with the NFL. Football teaches kids invaluable thins such as discipline, teamwork, leadership and resiliency. Football gives kids something to do after school, which keeps them off the streets. The exercise aspect seems important in a country with such a high obesity rate. Speaking of obesity, football is one of the few sports where there are spots for overweight kids to play.
If NFL team owners only cared about money they would put their money elsewhere. The ROI NFL owners get from owning a franchise is far lower than they could get elsewhere. If you consider opportunity cost NFL owners are losing out on money by owning franchises. This is why Warren Buffett has said that he would not buy a team. He ran the numbers and said that it was not worth it.
Not everything about football is perfect, but nothing is.
You forgot one group. Taxpayers buy stadiums with money that could be going to fund schools. It isn’t like those owners pay for the stadiums themselves.
8
The article briefly mentions the change in direction and dress of the cheerleaders following the purchase of the team nay Daniel Snyder. It would have been more revealing to push harder on his involvement.
It seems we are seeing more articles about today's issues that include brief mention of the involvement of their 0.1% owners. Nothing more on that however. Bring these people into the sunlight. Make them at least uncomfortable with the publicity involved in these scandals they are directing and funding.
16
Wow. I love football, but there are some aspects I could really do without including the mandatory National Anthem, the giant flags, trotting out military personnel and other martial elements, and the "cheerleaders." Football is a great game and it doesn't need "T&A" to make it fun to watch. Let's bring this game into the 21st century. If sideline dancers are needed, then dress them in appropriate dance clothing rather than bathing suits, and treat them with respect, not like escorts. Better yet, let's just skip the sideline dancers and play ball.
35
The only way this stuff will change unless people vote with their wallet. Stop using FedEx, stop watching games and stop paying for tickets. Money drives this and most things in the USA. So much for values— it is an all cash world, unfortunately
13
I no longer have any interest in professional football. The players wind up with crippled bodies and scrambled brains, and now we heat the cheerleaders, who are paid a pittance, are pressured to become total sex objects. Somebody is making money on all of this, and its disgraceful.
More and more, I appreciate NBA basketball. The players are athletic, graceful, and when they retire from the sport, seem to still be able to walk around in good health and with the same brains they started with.
57
Stories in this article made me sad for the talented and beautiful young ladies who worked so hard to get to this point in their careers but have been taken advantage of and treated in such disgraceful ways by people who should protect them. I am sure all of them are grateful for the brave ones who spoke to the press. I hope 'businessmen' who requested evening 'escorts' will come forward and apologize.
36
Protected them?
That, in a nutshell, is the problem. These young women should know how to protect themselves. If we want to be equals in the world, we can not think of ourselves as victims who need protection from our own choices. We can't present ourselves as helpless girl children incapable of simply saying no to a photo shoot we're uncomfortable with. Or no to unpaid work.
Did even one of the women say"I feel better holding on to my own passport, thanks anyway." Did they ASK why the passports were being collected? (One reason might have been that they would be stored in the hotel safe.) women need to learn to speak up, ask why, say no and stop thinking of ourselves as victims.
1
If the NFL is concerned about the safety of its players, then it must also be concerned about NFL cheerleaders who are an important part of the profit-making side of football. The time has long past when the NFL can hide behind the press statement provided in this article that the NFL "has no role in how the clubs which have cheerleaders utilize them." The NFL has a moral and possibly legal responsibility protect its team's cheerleaders who, if this reporting is true, have been subjected to horrific and potentially dangerous employment practices.
17
How I would like to see these cheerleaders, right before boarding the boat, put on a cheesehead hat, yell "Go Pack Go!", and storm off. While other teams obsess over chasing bored young men, the Packers know they play for families and act like it.
17
As a life long season ticket holder and shareholder, I agree! Go Pack Go!
1
Ludicrous as it may sound to some, these women are athletes and entertainers
Wearing a skimpy outfit as part of your performance doesn't entitle anyone to treat these women with anything less than respect.
The fact that many were bothered and several left after the photo shoot tells you this wasn't "standard."
44
It's time the use of cheerleaders at sporting events at all levels was reconsidered - or employing an equal number of men for the same purpose and dressing them similarly was considered.
56
A video revealed a candidate's attitude to women, and he still got elected. It indicates that the root of the problem is in how society prioritize issues.
70
I know! It is amazing that Bill got elected with the Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, etc, etc, scandals.
These women must organize and invite AGVA, (American Guild of Variety Artists, the same union that The Rockettes belong to) to represent them! What they're doing is professional work, and they need rules, protections and specific collective bargaining rights and a pay schedule to work under. There's nothing wrong with cheerleading, but professional football is a billion dollar industry and these women are entertainers and deserve rules, respect and representation and not empty promises of future 'opportunities' which may amount to nothing more than unrenumerated exploitation.
108
It completely amazes me that this sad vestige of juvenile, antiquated gender role playing is something that people actually spend time watching, fantasizing about, thinking about etc, oh, and the cheerleaders are totally ridiculous too.
39
FedEx may wish to reexamine its relationship with the NFL. Stick to next day deliveries and avoid supporting situations that appear disturbingly close to human trafficking.
100
Or do the patriotic thing and use the US Postal Service instead
1
It's a matter of choice. There's power in being able to choose when to be sexy. It's the exact opposite when others decide for you.
31
I never understood the obsession with cheerleaders in the states. Who would want their daughters in a “sport” where the ultimate destination is being a nude woman on a beach for specially invited men.
50
Excuse me?
You married/dated someone's daughter.
What in the world does that have to do with anything?
Answer=nothing.
When will we ever learn; sex sells!!!! Don't like the extra curricula duties; don't be a cheerleader!
27
I could be wrong, but I doubt these "extra curriculars," as you call them, were detailed upfront.
3
That has nothing to do with intimidating girls to escort strangers in a foreign country without paying them or even asking for their consent.
2
Seriously? Does that extend to high school cheerleaders?
1
Why doesn't the NFL do what the Packers do, and use local college cheerleaders? Sometimes they use the UW Green Bay coed squad, and sometimes they use the St. Norbert's squad. Oh, and the team is owned by the people of the area, so no special favors from owners for special guest.
50
Because, having long since given up on fielding a winning football team, these sleazy teams are trying to sell sex instead. As long as they draw in young men and their money, they won't worry about anything else.
15
Gee, an NFL team that sells and profits from derogatory racial epithets (do we have a team called the "black skins"? the "yellow skins"?) also exploits women's skin and no doubt exploits players who suffer from head injuries, etc. Haven't been a fan in years and tired of whole cities acting like it means something if the team wins or loses. The faster the NFL folds the better.
72
We are Rome. It is our Coliseum.
This team uses & abuses the very people who make its owner money -- female cheerleaders are objectified, refused fair wages & subjected to hostile work environments while overpaid male players retire with brain injuries. Even the team name is vulgar - denigrating an indigenous population that was the subject of ethnic cleansing. Pay $15,000 for a private box to watch his sport? No thanks, I'll read a book.
23
It is obvious that the NFL Team is essentially pimping these young women. Pretty disgusting.
59
I think they were safer than drunk high school girls on spring break in Florida and Texas.
6
I am not sure what point you are trying to make. They aren't drunk college students, they are paid professional women. Some of them have kids of their own. They should have a say in their workplace environment.
1
...and therefore?
yes the travails of the professional cheerleader, no doubt a top story. the Times should take a long hard look at itself cause you're a shadow of what you once were.
20
Can't blame the messenger for bad news.
1
Are you saying that the Times has no right to comment on anything until it "reforms" and conforms to your political point of view?
1
NFL cheerleaders did not believe that being sex symbols should be part of their job? Being sex symbols IS their job. They have nothing else to do. Jumping around in a skimpy costume has no application to playing football. It would appear to me to be a degrading and embarrassing thing for a woman to do, but these women were not conscripts. They volunteered. At least they, unlike the players, have no risk of brain injury.
28
I thought it was a matter of choice too until I got to the part where the women's passports were confiscated in Costa Rica.
3
No, they didn't "volunteer". They were paid contracted professionals. I'm paid and contracted to teach children; does that mean I need to "escort" my supervisor or one of his friends while my ID is held hostage?
3
So you’re saying “cheerleaders are sex symbols,” yet you do realize the majority of cheerleaders in America are under the age of 18? Believe it or not but some cheerleaders want to cheer on their team, hype up the crowd, and simply be the best cheerleader with the strongest kicks and brightest smile. Because a woman is asserting herself and appearing powerful does not mean she is asking to be a sexual object.
1
When I came to this country I failed to understand how a whole nation can justify cheerleading as a sport when you only see skimpily clad young girls jumping to cheering in a male-dominated sport. Shouldn't there at least be a good mix of both men and women cheering with a proper uniform for it to be a sport. How parents letting their daughters join this as a sport in schools not see this. is beyond me.
45
America is a fundamentally sexist country with enforced, rigid gender roles. Own it.
Yeah, I realized that when I first took my kids to Toys R Us here, I never grew up with such gender-biased toys.
I used to be a promoter for very big brands. We travel a lot across the country doing events, which included nightclubs, private parties, etc. We always choose you either do it or you don't. You are basically a sex symbol, implies things that you just don't want to do. I was just there for the money, but every time that something shady will come up, I will always say no thanks! My agency knew, that they will not count with me for after party date stuff. In the end, what I want to say is: if you feel uncomfortable about what they asking you to do... just don't do it. Yeah, you are going to get fired, but if you do it there's no coming back and say they make! Because I know they don't.
5
What would a "promoter" do if she were in a foreign country and her passport had been confiscated by the agency?
And how are the concession employees treated? Same wage probably. And neither make an actual contribution to the score of a professional game... Just get rid of cheerleaders, does anyone actually care of their effect? They arecforced to dress this way? act this way? not played enough? ... Just eliminate the role if it makes them so sad, offended or objectified.
4
This article made me sick. And I come from Japan.
13
In an interview on Tuesday, Ms. Jojokian choked up when she considered that some cheerleaders felt she did not fully support them.
“It breaks my heart because I’m a mom and I’ve done this for a long time,” she said.
By this she means Pimping
60
The old "mom" card.
High school outing? I say two things to the ladies: Sue, then Unionize.
8
The Great American Sport - see, its already great.
4
So having a race hating name isn’t enough. Now denigration of women, sexploitation, & denial of pay. Sounds like a menu of DOL violations on top of the hate mongering. With the threats against these ladies for not keeping silent; I think a RICO should be dropped on these awful subhumans, their team seized & given to the public.
17
Why do you say "race hating name"? I am an Eagles fan. Would you say that my team hates eagles?
Another reason to hate the Redskins
10
Disgusting. I think that about sums it up. Seems you don't have to look to developing countries to find sex slavery, we've seemed to make it a corporate perk.
29
This is wrong. Boycott the Redskins. I will not watch them play until they compensate the cheerleaders, pay a living wage, and demonstrate respect for women.
6
This is despicable, if not illegal. And Ross Douthat's column today is just yet another example of how men objectify and dehumanize women.
I hope the prosecutors are looking into this very carefully.
Hey, Sessions, where are you on this?
6
Why does anyone want to be an NFL cheerleader? That’s a serious question. It seems like something you do until you’re no longer extremely young, and no way any unattractive woman could do it. The pay has always been poor, and obviously the working environment not great. Is it a springboard to another job I’m not aware of?
12
And the cheerleaders stuck around why?
3
And you don’t understand the Power and Politics around this why?
And here it was I thought the Washington Redskins' politically incorrect name was their biggest problem.
14
what a country...what a culture
15
I don't know why anyone would allow someone to take their passport. One would think that is illegal under those circumstances. That passport belongs to no one but the person it was issued to, and the United States Government. That's is what sex traffickers do to women to keep them captive. There is no way the Redskins officials can justify that.
58
I went on a high school trip to Mexico many years ago and we were allowed to keep our own passports (we had the option to give them to the tour director if we wished). I kept mine. No one lost theirs. All our parents were encouraged to keep a photocopy of it back home just in case.
Seven years ago I was hired to write a feature story about the impressive philanthropic efforts of the Miami Dolphins cheerleading squad for a well-known regional magazine. What I can tell you is that I wasn’t allowed to visit the cheerleading facility, know its exact whereabouts, nor allowed to actually meet a cheerleader. I conducted interviews with two cheerleaders over the phone (from blocked telephone numbers) and with the woman who ran the Dolphins cheerleading program. She was tough as nails and made it abundantly clear that cheerleader safety was their #1 priority and that no one - not even a journalist from a reputable luxury magazine - was allowed to come into contact with her girls under any circumstances.
The end.
175
Does it strike you as possibly odd that management lines up philanthropic efforts for them, where presumably the cheerleaders come into contact with the public, or at least with those they are trying to help, but block any uncontrolled talking to a writer? Surely they could at least arranged a meeting in a public place and just kept an eye on you from across the room or something, no?
53
"The end"? Are you serious? Abusers use these tactics: separate the abused from family and friends, prohibit contact with anyone who might challenge their dominion over the abused, and keep the abuse they inflict out of sight. "Tough as nails"? I bet she was - in service to HER lords and masters, instead of to the women you’re naive enough to believe she was "protecting" rather than perpetuating, and in all likelihood, replicating their abuse.
NOT the end. Not by a long shot. The whole set up is creepy and disturbing, Why would any woman want to be an NFL cheerleader? The corruption and sleaze that this article posits as integral to the cheering "job" are nauseating, and should be abolished. And that woman who has the utter gall to "choke up" and tearfully say she's interested only in the cheerleaders' safety is full of it. If she weren't she would never have sanctioned the removal of the women's passports from their possession. As others here have pointed out, this is what human traffickers do. It obviously places the women in a perilous position should one or more of them desire to go home or need medical assistance. Both those "directors" serve at the pleasure of the men who control their livelihoods, a glaring conflict of interest that clearly overrides their phony "concern" for the cheerleaders' safety.'
Women can do so much better than allow themselves to be used and abused in this manner.
37
If you consider interviewing someone over a blocked phone number a reliable source of information your "well known" regional magazine must be owned by the National Enquirer. Journalism standards are now so low it is no surprise people doubt the accuracy of most news media. Trump may abuse the term "fake news" but the media brought it on themselves in their rush to gain followers and, thereby, more revenue.
15
Pittsburgh Steelers -- one of the few teams in the NFL without Cheerleaders.
I love the Rooneys.
24
Amen, brother...
Unfortunately, I'm a fan of the team. The owner, Dan Snyder, is as two-bit and sleazy as they come. I'm not surprised that he would do this.
I know a lot of us want to see the team change names and owner!
22
I don't think cheerleading ought to even be in the NFL but I can see how attractive young women would enjoy being out there getting the crowd riled up. And, yes, the cheerleaders actually do have an influence on the crowd and it must be thrilling to a point. But all of their sexiness doesn't give anyone license to treat them as if they were working girls at a bordello.
I'm not trying to be poetic when I say that a woman's good looks have a certain power over men. I know from experience that if you take a staid and reasonable man and put him with a pretty woman in a far flung place and a party atmosphere away from inhibiting factors (like a Costa Rican hotel) who's likely to be perceived as an underling and maybe not 9 times out of 10 but frequently enough he might try something. Not necessarily violent but coercive. I can recall plenty of times in college or on business trips when I've had to, just in case, bring a friend or two "back down to earth" (And they me occasionally).
Still, there's always capacity for rational thought and for recognizing the woman as an individual entitled to her own decisions, freely made with no compulsion.
5
"I'm not trying to be poetic".
I don't think anyone would accuse you of that.
Can we just note for the record that in, as I recall, early 2004, the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders flew into Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq to provide a moment of fun and entertainment for a whole lot of American troops grinding through the drudgery of life in a war zone. They have my lasting thanks and appreciation for their visit and their courage.
9
Cheerleading, at any level, is an anachronism that has no place in the 21st Century. But that's especially the case in pro sports, where there are additional expectations of making additional, unpaid "appearances". Why are women putting up with this? Even if they were getting paid a lot of money, which they are not, it would not be worth it.
And a specific question regarding this particular article: if the calendar does not include nudity, then why were the cheerleaders made to pose topless or in body paint (i.e. nude)? Solely for the benefit of their "audience" of sponsors and suite holders? Does anyone at the club care to explain?
52
Are you sure this occurred in 2013 and isn’t a reprint of a story from 1965? I seriously hope the men and women responsible for organizing this event are no longer employed by the Redskins’ organization or have any position that involves hiring decisions.
25
Like most guys I have been involved in watching pro football for most of my life. It is getting harder and harder to justify that choice. The Redskins have been in bad odor with the whole mascot controversy and now this story of pure sleaze. And of course the concussion thing. The plutocrat owners like their counterparts in the political world do not care about anyone or anything beneath their station. I just hope I have the self-discipline to be done with their product
59
This sounds like human trafficking.
44
Hello, Mr. Avenatti? Could we please talk about our trip to Costa Rica?
10
When will you guys stop with the everyone's a victim stuff. This is ludicrous. These women are hired because they are smoking hot for people to look at. Does anyone force them to take the job? I think not.
19
Actually, as the article makes clear, they did not sign on to be photographed topless an "please male sponsors."
2
And I am sure these creeps and owners would have no problem with their daughters and sisters being in the same situation as these cheerleaders.
Such great role models of the male chromosome.
Ladies, take pictures of these creeps and fight fire with fire against fire as you should never be faced with being the property of evil minded fools.
22
This is extremely disturbing. Criminal investigation needs to be launched and owners held accountable. I urge all cheerleaders to immediately go on strike, form a union, obtain legal representation, and give the NFL team owners both barrels. Hold back nothing. This article sickens me. The treatment these ladies receive from their pervert team owners must come to an end.
21
“I’m the mama bear,” says cheerleading director Jojokian. Her actual role sounds much more like “bottom girl” in a sex trafficking ring to me.
67
Of course this was done on foreign soil: it's so much harder to have your bosses arrested for pimping you out and getting your immediate supervisor nailed to the wall as a madame. The whole squad should quit and go back to their high schools and warn every school girl there about their experiences. Some porn stars are treated better, but barely.
19
Professional football use & abuse the very dpeople who make it successful. women are objectified, not paid fare wages, intentionally placed in situations ripe for sexual harassment. The team name denigrates an indigenous population our country attempted to ethnically cleanse. The sport itself causes brain injuries to its overpaid players.
3
More of the sexploitation of women. Who misses the Washington Madam when you have the Redskins (yet another inappropriate racist moniker). Professional football may be the modern day "opiate of the masses" (although we have the real opiod epidemic as well) where hyper-masculine macho gladiators beat each others brains into concussions and later CTE, and treat women cheerleaders as Donald Trump treats Playmates. It's time for the cheerleaders to take a knee for #MeToo and stand up for the human dignity they deserve, but that football denies them.
13
Really?
Take a knee and stand up?
Neat trick.....
1
A five year old story, obviously exposed because The Times is openly asking for cheerleader to email them. None of the cheerleaders resigned, but now I am sure they will hire trial lawyer and sue.
The fight to kill the NFL continues, one PC incident at a time.
Why? Men in violent conflict is really not cool for the PC crowd.
2
this pathetic cheerleader culture in American sports must stop. people who like to enjoy such show should go to strip clubs and such 'uncivilized' places like casinos in cities like Las Vegas and not to a sports competition.
11
There are felony and misdemeanor offenses described herein.
3
The NFL used to be about pride and honor, not rape and assault and protecting those who do it because they play well.
4
Ms Jojokian is the real Aunt Lydia.
19
The NFL functions at the cultural level of the NRA.
27
Is there any good lawyer to sue these pimps for, like a $1,000,000,000? Such lowlifes should be ruined financially.
1. This the National Football League.
2. The subsidiary is the Washington Redskins.
There should be no surprise. Extreme bad taste, yes...
'Merica!!!
3
The players all wind up with CTE and the women are treated like pieces of meat. Nothing redeeming at all about this loathsome “sport”.
7
"It breaks my heart because I’m a mom and I’ve done this for a long time. Where is this coming from? I would never put a woman in a situation like that."
A situation like what, Ms. Jojokian? Trapped with strange men, in a foreign country without her passport?
73
But wait, the cheerleaders filed no complaints as to how the were treated by "strange men." Could it be that they had a good time?
I have a great idea, if you don’t like it the way it is Quit.
9
I’m a man and this is not the way it is. This is a job, and with it there are employers and employees responsibilities. They were hired to dance. They weren’t hired for sex. That’s human trafficking.
25
SICK! The NFL needs to be regulated by Congress.
9
Right on! And Congress should fund dating websites and Chinese take out.
5
So the football team in the nation's capital has a racist name and pressures its cheerleaders to do nude photo shoots where the team's sponsors can ogle them?
I guess this is what the national anthem stands for now.
Racism and sexism.
We should all take knees.
60
Gross. Really gross. The women were always, "...treated respectfully..." Really? "Respected" people aren't mistaken for prostitutes by authorities in a foreign country.
34
At least the New York Daily News has the spine to refuse to print the name of this foul racist "team". Does the fact that their sins extend to misogynistic abuse surprise anyone?
But these women have no excuses either. Cheerleading is not an art, craft or sport. Between the rules they follow, the scanties they wear, and the "extracurriculars" they are expected to agree to, any woman with a brain can see through this "job". The fact that they were stupid or desperate enough to sign this contract weakens their complaints.
Get rid of them and prosecute the teams for the abuse that occurred under their watch.
15
High seat and food prices have shut out a lot of blue car football fans and have attracted high rollers. These high rollers apparently don't want any down time. The cheerleaders loud music, acrobatic mascots and endless jumbotron activities satisfy the need. Old timers understood the games better than today's fans and kept themselves entertained by talking strategy and player performance. Cheerleaders are an anomale. In high school and college, they cheer on the home team. In the NFL they dance during timeouts. So they are not cheerleaders at all, they are part of the entertainment. For decades we did without them, and concentrated more on the game. I liked that better. I'd put the cheerleaders out of their misery by getting rid of the whole lot of them.
18
" For decades we did without them, and concentrated more on the game."
I certainly don't know how old you are, but most
of us would have to go back more than 65 years
to know whether or not we agree with you. And
I. for one, just can't do that,
If we objectify our own bodies, we shouldn't be surprised when everyone else does, too.
15
Is Jojokian referring to the cheerleaders as children?
22
It's only fitting they should ask male athletes to participate in the same type of events with women sponsors. Be showered with money while taking their locker room showers.
5
Ms. Jojokian is quoted as saying, “No sponsor is worth these children’s safety and well-being at all." Really? I had to double check that I was still on the same article! Hey, Mr. Goodell; time for you to step in and call an end to NFL cheerleaders.
16
Why should it be surprising that an organization that disrespects Native people with the derogatory name "redskins" also disrespects and degrades women? One usually goes with the other and both are maintained by male power and privilege.
It's past time that this anachronism to high school fantasies end. No one goes to these games or tunes in to see cheerleaders. There are no cheers, there is no school spirit, only long legs and low cleavage. Enough of the sexual fantasies, just play the game.
12
Having all-female cheerleaders for a professional team is sort of asking for this kind of thing, isn't it?
3
Wow - what an awful job. All those platitudes about learning 'life skills', 'growing' and 'being one big family' are the kind of garbage that people say to people who are being taken advantage of.
Sure lots may say they love it, and I'm sure it has opened a few doors for some but frankly this sounds like a bad unpaid internship where the basic job description entails sexual harassment.
16
The price of these suites for regular season games starts at $15,000 a game. These men are no ordinary bum,but probably rich,connected and educated. They know better,but choose to enable this despicable behaviour. You take young women to another country,take their passports,and them order them be escorts for corporate sponsors,and suite owners. May we please have the names of the corporate sponsors,and suite owners who requested these girls,and participated in ordering up their choice of cheerleader. I hope they get the pants sued off of them,the women get a big settlement,and the companies are held up to public scorn. Who are these guys behind this crime ?
22
It's "interesting" that Ms. Jojokian refers to these cheerleaders alternately as "children" and "girls." What? They're 17 years old and under? No? Then, they're women, not girls.
25
As long as there are women like these who are too young to even know when they are being objectified, used or abused, the female half of the human race should never expect to achieve equality. Mr. Snyder, Mr. Teel and Ms. J. are not fooling anyone. The fact that they used ruses and didn't pay these women to cavort topless and party with sponsors, proves how aware they must have been that they were verging on pimping or worse. And to anyone who maintains that these women "knew what they were doing," I say, NO, they only THOUGHT they knew what they were doing. They thought they were keeping their low wage exploitive jobs. Shame on the Redskins for their racist name and barely legal behavior, and the rest of the NFL for treating young women like chattel.
25
So there is room in the NFL for teams to abuse women in this way but no room for Colin Kaepernick?
23
Another deeply questionable American institution: cheerleading... or what Americans have turned it into... display of the female body to a lecherous crowd to sustain big money.
7