Three NFL officials met Thursday with an attorney seeking to end the climate of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination that many former cheerleaders claim exists.
A league spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports the meeting was part of a “renewed effort this offseason” to ensure an appropriate working environment for cheerleaders.
Sara Blackwell, who has held discussions with current and former cheerleaders from most NFL teams that have rosters, said the two-hour meeting in New York was “extremely productive” and she remains hopeful that issues be made public through legal action and the media. reports from recent months could be corrected.
“They were very interested in the issues and actually asked for my recommendations,” Blackwell told USA TODAY Sports. “The (NFL representatives) have been very supportive. … They asked questions and were very engaged.”
Two NFL attorneys, as well as Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president of corporate responsibility, attended the meeting.
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“We had a productive meeting today with Sara Blackwell,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email to USA TODAY Sports. “She is dedicated to cheerleading issues and ensuring they work in a safe and respectful workplace, which we support.” The league office undertook a renewed effort this offseason to encourage clubs with cheerleading programs to review those programs to ensure they are both legal and appropriate. We will continue to work with these clubs to share information and ideas, including those from Ms Blackwell.
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Cheerleaders, like other team employees who are not players covered by the collective bargaining agreement, are required to follow the rules established by each club, not NFL policy. This wrinkle was reiterated to Blackwell during the meeting.
“Even though the NFL has no control over cheerleading, it remains interested in this issue,” Blackwell said. “It’s the teams’ decision and they can make changes that will only be in the best interest of the cheerleaders, but also the general public and fans.”
Blackwell sent the NFL a letter earlier this year offering to drop the threat of litigation in exchange for $1 and a meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell. (Goodell was not present at Thursday’s meeting.) Blackwell is the attorney for Bailey Davis, a former New Orleans Saints cheerleader, and former Miami Dolphins cheerleader , Kristan Ann Ware.
Davis filed suit in March with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Ware filed suit against the Dolphins and the NFL with the Florida Human Relations Commission in April.
This letter from Blackwell led to a conference call with NFL officials in May amid reports that cheerleaders were targets of sexual harassment from fans and paid below minimum wage.
The New York Times reported in May that Washington Redskins cheerleaders were subjected to misogynistic and predatory behavior, which included details of a 2013 trip to an adults-only resort in Costa Rica. On that trip, the newspaper reported that Redskins sponsors and FedEx Field suite owners — all men — watched a photo shoot in which some of the cheerleaders were topless.
Redskins pushed back against some of the more salacious claims, as did some of the cheerleaders who were on the trip.
Three former Houston Texans cheerleaders claimed in a federal lawsuit filed earlier this year that they were subjected to harassment — including about their weight and ethnicity — by the team’s cheerleading director and that they had been “physically attacked by fans”.
Follow AJ Perez on Twitter @byajperez
