Dallas Cowboys Paid $2.4M To Cheerleaders Over Alleged Spying By Former Executive Richard Dalrymple, ESPN Reports

FRISCO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - A report by ESPN released on Wednesday, reveals the Dallas Cowboys paid a $2.4 million settlement to four Cowboys cheerleaders who accused a former team executive of spying on them in their locker room.

Each of the women received $399,523, the network reported, citing documents and unidentified people as sources.

According to the report, the cheerleaders said in 2015, former Senior Vice President of Public Relations, Richard Dalrymple, was in their dressing room at AT&T Stadium as they changed clothes and may have recorded them on a smartphone while they were undressing.

One of the cheerleaders said she saw Dalrymple standing behind a partial wall in the locker room with his iPhone extended toward them while they were changing, ESPN reported.

He later told team officials he did not know the women were there and left immediately.

Dalrymple, who retired earlier this month after more than three decades of work with team owner Jerry Jones, issued a statement to ESPN denying the allegations.

"People who know me, co-workers, the media and colleagues, know who I am and what I'm about," Dalrymple said. "I understand the very serious nature of these claims and do not take them lightly. The accusations are, however, false."

In a statement the Cowboys told CBS 11 an investigation found no wrongdoing and that the settlement was to let the cheerleaders know their allegations had been taken seriously.

The following is the statement from Dallas Cowboys spokesperson Jim Wilkinson responding to a request for comment from CBS 11:

"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. The cheerleaders are a vital part of the Dallas Cowboys family, and in terms of the settlement, the organization wanted to go above and beyond to ensure the cheerleaders knew that their allegations had been taken extremely seriously, and immediately and thoroughly investigated. Everyone involved felt just terrible about this unfortunate incident."

According to ESPN, a signed copy of the May 2016 settlement agreement includes a nondisclosure agreement in which the four women, three of their spouses and Cowboys officials agreed to never speak publicly about the allegations.

There was also an allegation by a fan that during an NFL Draft night, a fan saw Dalrymple take an "upskirt" shot of Cowboys' Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones Anderson.

To that, Wilkinson said:

"The most basic common sense tells you that if Jerry Jones believed in any way that someone had even remotely done something like that to any member of his family, that person would have been fired immediately."

(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)