Dallas Cowboys Paid Cheerleaders $2.4M To Settle Voyeurism Allegations

The Dallas Cowboys paid a settlement of $2.4 million after cheerleaders accused a senior executive of voyeurism in their locker room as they undressed.

According to ESPN, the alleged incident occurred during a 2015 event at AT&T Stadium. One of the four cheerleaders said she saw Richard Dalrymple, longtime senior vice president for public relations and communications, "standing behind a partial wall in their locker room with his iPhone extended toward them while they were changing their clothes," people with knowledge of the incident told ESPN. Dalrymple used a security key card at the back door to get inside the cheerleaders' locked dressing room.

ESPN is aware of the identity of the four cheerleaders "but does not typically reveal the names of people who have reported allegations of sexual misconduct." Each of the four cheerleaders received $399,523.27 in the settlement with the rest of the money paid out to legal teams. None of the women are currently employed with the team.

Dalrymple told team officials he went into the locker room not knowing the women were in there. He said he left right away, but multiple sources told ESPN a contradicting story.

The senior executive is also accused of taking "upskirt" photos of Charlotte Jones, the Cowboys senior vice president and daughter of owner Jerry Jones, during the 2015 NFL Draft. A lifelong Cowboys fan accused Dalrymple and signed an affidavit saying he saw the incident during the live stream of the war room on the Cowboys website, according to ESPN.

Dalrymple denied both allegations in a statement Monday:

"People who know me, co-workers, the media and colleagues, know who I am and what I'm about. 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."

Jim Wilkinson, a Cowboys communications consultant, said the team investigated both incidents and found no wrongdoing and no evidence against Dalrymple. "The organization took these allegations extremely seriously and moved immediately to thoroughly investigate this matter. The investigation was handled consistent with best legal and HR practices and the investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing. If any wrongdoing had been found, Rich would have been terminated immediately. Everyone involved felt just terrible about this unfortunate incident," he said.

Dalrymple retired on February 2, several weeks after ESPN started conducting interviews about the alleged incidents. He said the allegations "had nothing to do with my retirement from a long and fulfilling career, and I was only contacted about this story after I had retired."