Cowboys pay four cheerleaders $2.4 million settlement after voyeurism allegations: report

(The Hill) – The Dallas Cowboys paid a settlement of $2.4 million after four members of its cheerleading squad accused former team senior executive Richard Dalrymple of voyeurism.

Documents obtained by ESPN on Wednesday said each woman received a total sum of $399,523.27 from the confidential settlement over allegations involving Dalrymple.

Sources with knowledge of the events and documents sent by lawyers to the Cowboys said that one of the cheerleaders alleged that during a team event in 2015, she saw Dalrymple standing behind a partial wall in their changing room and recording them with his iPhone.

The sources told ESPN that Dalrymple had entry to the back door of the cheerleader’s locker room by using a security key card.

Dalrymple spent over three decades as the Cowboys’ longtime senior vice president for public relations and communications. He was also a close ally to longtime owner Jerry Jones, according to ESPN.

A longtime Cowboys fan also accused Dalrymple of taking “upskirt” photos of Jones’s daughter, the team’s senior vice president Charlotte Jones Anderson, in the team’s war room during the 2015 NFL Draft.

According to the affidavit, the unidentified fan claimed he witnessed the incident while watching a livestream of the war room on the team’s website.

A source said the Cowboys did issue Dalrymple a formal warning after the alleged cheerleading incident. ESPN reported a May 2016 settlement which includes a nondisclosure agreement about the accusations.

“The organization took these allegations extremely seriously and moved immediately to thoroughly investigate this matter,” Cowboys’ spokesperson Jim Wilkinson said in a statement. “The investigation was handled consistent with best legal and HR practices and the investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing.”

In a statement, Dalrymple, who recently retired from his position with the team earlier this month, denied the allegations against him, ESPN noted.

“People who know me, co-workers, the media and colleagues, know who I am and what I’m about,” Dalrymple said. “I understand the very serious nature of these claims and do not take them lightly. The accusations are, however, false. One was accidental and the other simply did not happen. Everything that was alleged was thoroughly investigated years ago, and I cooperated fully.”

The Hill has reached out to the Dallas Cowboys for comment.