PHILADELPHIA -- Two former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders
filed a federal lawsuit claiming players from visiting teams,
including the Dallas Cowboys, repeatedly spied on the cheerleaders
as they changed clothes.
The cheerleaders' dressing room adjoins the visiting team's
locker room, and a door connects the two. At various times, the
suit filed Wednesday alleged, the players drilled holes through the
door or scratched the paint off a small glass window to see through
to the other side.
According to the lawsuit, the women learned of the action in
January, when The New York Times, citing sources, reported the
alleged peeping.
The plaintiffs contend that the "ability to peer into the
cheerleaders' locker room, and to view them in (various) states of
undress, was considered one of the special 'perks' of being a
visiting team of the Eagles."
"It was common knowledge among virtually the entire National
Football League -- while at the same time a carefully guarded secret
to be known only to the players and other team employees of the
(visiting) teams -- that these conditions existed," the suit
stated.
The former cheerleaders -- identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe
2 -- are seeking damages in excess of $75,000 from each of 23
visiting teams and their players and other employees. Between the
two of them, the women were Eagles cheerleaders from 1986 to this
year.
Among the teams named in the lawsuit are the Cowboys, the
Washington Redskins and the Denver Broncos.
The Eagles were not named as defendants.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league could not comment
because officials had not seen the lawsuit.
Michael J. McKenna, the plaintiffs' lawyer, did not return a
telephone call seeking comment Wednesday. Officials from the Eagles
and Veterans Stadium also did not return calls.
The New York Times story quoted Marylou Tammaro, director of the
cheerleading team, as saying visiting players have tried such
actions as drilling holes to see in the women's dressing room. But
she maintained they haven't been successful because the
cheerleaders take precautions, such as taping over the holes,
before every home game.
Tammaro told the Times she had repeatedly spoken to city
officials about creating a more secure environment for the
cheerleaders, but her pleas had been ignored.
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On the outside looking in: The lack of morality shown by spying into the cheerleaders' locker room.
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