Washington Football Team replaces cheerleaders with coed dancers

The Washington Football Team announced that the NFL’s longest-running cheerleading squad will be replaced with a coed dance squad.

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The disbanding of The First Ladies of Football, which debuted in 1962 as the Redskinettes, is the latest move by the team to modernize, The Washington Post reported. The move comes a month after the team halted its all-female program after a confidential settlement with former cheerleaders who were the subject of several lewd videos, the newspaper reported.

“As we set out to modernize the Washington Football gameday, it’s important that we develop a top-notch entertainment program that keeps our fanbase excited and connected to the game and the team,” Washington Football Team President Jason Wright said in a news release.

Last July, the Post reported that 15 former employees of the team were sexually harassed while they worked for the team.

>> Report: 15 women who worked for Washington Redskins allege sexual harassment

A week later, the franchise jettisoned its longtime name, which had been part of the team since 1937. The name “Redskins” was viewed as offensive to Native Americans.

The changes come as owner Dan Snyder continues to be criticized for the alleged culture of mismanagement, sexual misconduct and hostility toward those who questioned him, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. The NFL will be receiving the results of an independent investigation into allegations by more than 40 women who alleged they were sexually harassed while working for the team, the newspaper reported.

Wright said last month the decision to reassess the program was unrelated to the allegations.

>> Redskins no more: NFL retiring Washington franchise name

Last season’s cheerleaders were told of the decision to disband The First Ladies of Football last month after a hastily called Zoom meeting was arranged, the Post reported.

“Taking opportunities away from women and adding men to this team is not a resolution,” Candess Correll, a 2020 team captain, told the Post. “It’s a slap in the face to the legacy of the Washington Football Team cheerleaders.”

The dance team will be overseen by longtime NBA dance team leader Petra Pope, who has worked with the Lakers and Knicks, the Times-Dispatch reported.

“The NBA has long embraced innovative dance and halftime shows, but most NFL teams have remained more oriented towards traditional cheerleading programs,” Pope said in the team’s news release. “Fans can expect an experience like none other -- a gender-neutral and diverse squad of athletes and dancers whose choreography, costumes, props, tricks and stunts will rival the best entertainment across genres and really inspire and ‘wow’ our fans.”

Pope said through the team spokesperson that former cheerleaders can audition for the squad, which she said would be more “athletic” and “serve as a model for the league,” the Post reported.

“Hearing this new dance team being announced as diverse and athletic -- those are just buzzwords and things we already embodied,” Julia Camacho, who cheered for the team for the past two seasons, told the newspaper. “It’s like it’s easier for the team to cut ties with the word ‘cheerleader’ than to change the culture of the organization.”

Sara Blackwell, who represented former cheerleaders in complaints against the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets, said adding men is a “great idea” but does not solve long-standing problems.

“You can change the name. You can change the performance,” Blackwell told the Post. “But it’s the treatment of the cheerleaders that needs to be better.”

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