The NFL has no plans to investigate the Dallas Cowboys in the wake of voyeurism allegations made against a former team vice president and a $2.4 million settlement to four members of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said this was “a club matter” and it would not be looked into further by the NFL.
Rich Dalrymple, who had been the team’s vice president for public relations until his abrupt resignation announcement on Feb. 2, was accused of voyeurism by four members of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders while they were changing in their locker room before a 2015 event at AT&T Stadium, according to an ESPN report published Wednesday.
he Cowboys said that they investigated the incident thoroughly and found no reason to take action against their longtime executive, however, the organization paid a confidential settlement of $2.4 million to the cheerleaders. Each of the women received nearly $400,000, with attorneys getting the rest, according to the ESPN report.
Dalrymple also was accused of taking “upskirt” photos of Charlotte Jones Anderson, a team vice president and the daughter of team owner Jerry Jones, in the Cowboys’ war room during the 2015 NFL Draft.
That accusation was made by a Cowboys fan who signed an affidavit that he was watching a livestream of the war room on the team’s website when he said he saw the alleged incident.
Dalrymple, who had been Jones’ personal confidant and gatekeeper for the last 32 years, retired at the end January. He denied the accusations in a statement issued through Jim Wilkinson, a public relations consultant hired by the Cowboys.
Wilkinson said the Cowboys thoroughly investigated both alleged incidents and found no wrongdoing by Dalrymple and no evidence that he took photos or video of the women.
“The organization took these allegations extremely seriously and moved immediately to thoroughly investigate this matter,” Wilkinson said. “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.”
Wilkinson said the Cowboys felt it was in the best interest of everyone involved to not only settle the case with the cheerleaders but to go above and beyond.
“The cheerleaders are a vital part of the Cowboys family,” Wilkinson said. “The Dallas Cowboys wanted to go above and beyond to ensure the cheerleaders knew their allegations had been taken extremely seriously and had been immediately and thoroughly investigated. Everyone involved felt terrible about this unfortunate incident.”