Jerry Jones finally responds to Cowboys’ cheerleaders settlement news

On Feb. 16, ESPN released an investigative article stating that the Dallas Cowboys organization paid a $2.4 million settlement to four members of the franchise’s iconic cheerleading squad. The women accused the former head of public relations, Richard Dalrymple, of taking photos of the cheerleaders while they were undressing in their locker room.

A fan of the Cowboys also accused Dalrymple of taking “upskirt” photos of Charlotte Jones Anderson during a live stream of the Cowboys’ war room during the 2015 NFL Draft. Jones Anderson is not only a senior vice president of the team, but she is also the daughter of Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones.

It was reported that Dalrymple received a formal, written warning, but the senior exec remained on the staff for another six years. After the written complaint, the exec also had locker room access revoked and several security changes were made around AT&T Stadium. Before retiring suddenly on Feb. 2 of this year, Dalrymple was with the team for 32 years. He was considered an incredibly good friend of the Jones family.

After two weeks, Jones made his first statement about the situation. In an interview with DFW NBC 5’s anchor Meredith Land, Jones said:

"“First of all, the cheerleaders are an iconic- a vital- part of what our organization is, the Dallas Cowboys. And so we took these allegations very seriously. We immediately began a look-see, an investigation into the situation. I can assure you that had we found that it need be, there would have been firings or there would have been suspicion. As it turns out, in the best interest of our cheerleaders, in the best interest of the organization, in the best interest of our fans, what we decided to do was show the cheerleaders how seriously we took these allegations and we wanted them to know that we were real serious, and so the settlement was the way to go.”"

https://twitter.com/KevinGraySports/status/1497594611262500864?s=20&t=_AubLLaKGTs4NwuiT113AA

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones finally responds to $2.4 million settlement made to cheerleaders with a very vague and unhelpful statement

There isn’t really any new information in that quote. Jones seems to be covering his bases and repeatedly using the term “in the best interest” to try and show that he knows what is best for all parties involved in this accusation. Of course, it’s understandable that he can only say so much given the non-disclosure agreement. But it also seems the non-disclosure agreement is only really in the best interest of the former exec and the team.

It’s especially shocking that Jones has yet to make comments about the fact that his daughter is one of the women who had a negative incident with Dalrymple. It seems politics has become the most important factor in this situation.

Of course, when asked, Dalrymple denied any accusations. The former exec said this to ESPN:

"“I understand the very serious nature of these claims and do not take them lightly. The accusations are, however, false. Everything that was alleged was thoroughly investigated years ago, and I cooperated fully.”"

The biggest mystery seems to be how this man remained on staff for six years after the incident. Now, of course, Dalrymple’s “sudden” retirement doesn’t seem so sudden at all. But amidst all of the controversy, the Cowboys organization maintains that it did everything in its power to handle the allegations properly. This is a quote from communications consultant Jim Wilkinson:

"“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."

It appears Dalrymple, Jones, and the Cowboys are doing what they can to justify trying to sweep this story under the rug as much as possible. With non-disclosure agreements being signed, it’s unlikely we will ever know the full truth of the situation.