Two former Redskins cheerleaders Friday pushed back against allegations made in a New York Times article over a 2013 trip to Costa Rica.
Appearing on NBC’s “Today,” Rachel Gill and Charo Bishop, two former cheerleader captains, said they were never forced to do anything they didn’t want to do.
The New York Times talked to five cheerleaders who said male sponsors and suiteholders were allowed to be around topless photo shoots, and nine women were required to be personal escorts for some of the men at a nightclub.
Gill and Bishop, who were speaking on behalf of the Redskins, said the cheerleaders’ actions were voluntary.
“Those terms ’pimped out,’ ’escort,’ they just need to stop because it’s absolutely not what happened,” Gill said.
“In terms of being an escort, that was never a perception that I had,” Bishop said. “I think being friendly and receptive and welcoming to sponsors is completely different than being an escort.”
Gill and Bishop both said they couldn’t speak for what others might have felt during the trip.
In a statement, Redskins President Bruce Allen said “based on the dialogue we’ve had with a number of current and former cheerleaders over the past 48 hours, we’ve heard very different first-hand accounts that directly contradict many of the details of the May 2 article.” The team is also looking into the allegations raised in the article.
The newspaper also reported that two team officials were at the nightclub, and the women had their passports locked away.
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