LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 17: A Washington Redskins cheerleader performs on December 17, 2017, at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. The Washington Redskins defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 20-15. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, NFL Cheerleading has come under scrutiny on the heels of a controversy involving the Washington Redskins. A recent sports poll examined the American Public’s attitudes towards NFL cheerleaders, and what their role has been and should be in the future.
The New York Times published a story in April that stated that groping and sexual harassment are part of the job. That story cited that teams exploit cheerleaders by sending them to pregame tailgating and other gatherings where they are subjected to offensive sexual comments and unwanted touches by fans.
Last week, another story catalogued a 2013 photo shoot for the Washington Redskins in which women were allegedly required to take topless photos even though the calendar doesn’t show nudity. The story outlined a host of allegations involving this particular photo shoot.
The Redskins issues a statement in response to the Times’ story saying, “the organization is very concerned by the allegations. We are immediately looking into this situation. Current and former Redskins cheerleaders are sharing very different first-hand accounts that directly contradict many of the details.”
Concurrently with the publication of the Redskins’ story, the Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted its semi-monthly poll and addressed the public’s perception of cheerleading. However, the story had not been published at the time of polling, which was April 23-25 among 736 adults in the United States. The Seton Hall Sports Poll is conducted by the Sharkey Institute, at the Stillman School of Business on the campus of Seton Hall University.
(Full disclosure: I do some work for the Seton Hall Sports Poll, but was not influenced in the content of this story.)
In the poll, men and women disagreed on questions of provocative costumes and posing for provocative photos. On the question of cheerleader costumes, by 56% to 31%, Americans disagreed that they were too provocative. But on this question, women were equally divided (44%-43% saying too provocative, while men disagreed that they were too provocative by a 69%-19% divide).
How N.F.L. teams treat their cheerleaders has received intense scrutiny in recent weeks, since The New York Times reported that the former Saints cheerleader Bailey Davis was fired for violating a team social media policy.