Jerry Jones explains Dallas Cowboys settlement with Cheerleaders

The Cowboys paid a hefty sum to four Dallas Cheerleaders, as a voyeurism scandal resulted in a $2.4 million settlement. The situation has been kept hush, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones shockingly decided to address it publicly.

In an interview with Meredith Land of NBC DFW, Jones explained the decision to settle — even though the team’s internal investigation found no wrongdoing.

“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,” Jones told Land, per Pro Football Talk. “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 suspension.

“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.”

It’s surprising Jones even addressed the situation publicly, as he and everyone involved in the settlement signed a non-disclosure agreement. Now, the floodgates could be opened for more questions and scrutiny regarding the settlement.

More on Dallas Cowboys, Cheerleaders settlement

Furthermore, last week the NFL came to the decision not to investigate the Cowboys settlement with their team’s Cheerleaders further. Last Friday, David Van Natta Jr. of ESPN detailed the situation.

“The NFL will not be opening an investigation into the events surrounding the Dallas Cowboys‘ $2.4 million confidential settlement with four members of their cheerleading squad who accused a now-former team executive of voyeurism in their locker room in 2015, a league spokesman told ESPN on Friday,” wrote Van Natta. “The cheerleaders’ allegations, along with an additional allegation of voyeurism against Richard Dalrymple, the Cowboys’ longtime senior vice president for public relations and communications, are considered a club matter, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.”

Moreover, Van Natta detailed the allegations that were levied against Dalrymple and the Cowboys.

“According to documents obtained by ESPN and people with knowledge of the situation, the cheerleaders accused Dalrymple of using his security key card to enter the back door of their locked dressing room during an event at AT&T Stadium on Sept. 2, 2015,” wrote Van Natta. “One of the women alleged she clearly saw Dalrymple standing behind a partial wall with his iPhone extended toward them as they were changing their clothes, according to several people with knowledge of the events and letters sent by attorneys for the cheerleaders to the team.

“In the second allegation, a Cowboys fan who was watching a livestream from the team’s war room during the 2015 NFL draft swore in an affidavit that he saw Dalrymple take “upskirt” photos of Charlotte Jones Anderson, a team senior vice president and the daughter of owner Jerry Jones. The alleged incident was raised by the cheerleaders’ attorneys during settlement talks and cited in the final document, which includes a nondisclosure agreement barring the cheerleaders, their spouses and Cowboys officials from discussing either episode.”