Redskins Cheerleaders: Team Was ‘Pimping Us Out’ During Costa Rica Trip

Some Redskins cheerleaders are accusing the team of putting them in unsafe situations while on the job. In one case, a group of all-male “sponsors and FedExField suite holders” were granted access to their calendar photo shoot in Costa Rica in 2013, where some women were required to pose topless or with body paint, according to The New York Times. The men were reportedly invited there by the team and “granted up-close access to the photo shoots.” At one point during the trip, some of the cheerleaders were told to “get ready” because male sponsors had picked them to be their “personal escorts at a nightclub,” they said. Some reportedly started crying, and said that even though the situation did not involve sex, they felt management was “pimping” them out. “We weren't asked, we were told. Other girls were devastated because we knew exactly what she was doing,” one of the cheerleaders said. In 2012, businessman William Teel reportedly held parties on his yacht—where Redskins cheerleaders could win “cash prizes” in “twerking contests” and were given shots of alcohol through turkey basters. The cheerleaders’ director, Stephanie Jojokian, denies making team members go out with sponsors. Teel denied creating a hostile or degrading environment for the cheerleaders on his boat.