Former NFL cheerleaders have joined calls to release the full investigation into the Washington Football Team after fresh revelations
- Former team cheerleaders want the NFL to release the full report into the Washington Football Team.
- It was reported in the New York Times this week that topless photos of team cheerleaders were shared among senior staff.
Former Washington Football Team cheerleaders have joined calls for the NFL to release the league's full report into its workplace culture in the aftermath of the resignation of Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden.
Gruden resigned on Monday night after the New York Times reported on a trove of emails in which he used racist, misogynist, and homophobic language about league officials. The emails were among 650,000 documents investigated as part of a broader probe into NFL workplace culture that did not directly involve Gruden.
Among the accusations made in the New York Times story that prompted his resignation was that Gruden and several Washington Football Team officials, including the team's former general manager Bruce Allen, had shared topless images of cheerleaders.
"Gruden exchanged emails with Allen and other men that included photos of women wearing only bikini bottoms, including one photo of two Washington team cheerleaders," the Times reported.
This information spurred former Washington cheerleaders to join calls for the NFL's full report on workplace culture to be released.
The report was concluded in July, with Washington handed a $10 million fine, but has not been released publicly.
According to the Daily Beast, the women who had their pictures shared "were left to find out about the topless photo incident in the press, nearly four months later."
"It's despicable, really, to see that there is more evidence of exploitation and violation of these cheerleaders who I worked very closely with," Melanie Coburn, a former Washington Football Team cheerleader told the Daily Beast.
"They're now coming out wondering, 'What the hell, it's more than just these two videos.'
"I can only imagine how they feel, and they have no voice.
"I know that there's a lot more where these emails came from."
Coburn, who was the cheerleading team's marketing director for 10 years, started a petition in February asking for the full report to be released. More than 40,000 people have now signed it.
Courtney DeYoung, a 12-year veteran of the Washington cheerleading squad, echoed calls to release the report.
"I would just say release the freaking report," she told the Daily Beast. "Let's have some transparency, and then let's decide what to do moving forward."
"Let's stop protecting the boys club and just release it."
Monday's accusation about lewd images of cheerleaders is the latest in a string of incidents in which former Washington cheerleaders have reportedly had their privacy violated.
A senior vice president reportedly referred to the video as "the good bits" from a calendar shoot.