Jerry Jones says Cowboys’ cheerleader settlement ‘was in the best interest of everyone’

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke with beat reporters Monday about the organization’s confidential $2.4 million settlement with former team cheerleaders in May 2016 for the first time since an interview with NBC DFW last month. Jones said the deal “was in the best interests of everyone, with priorities of course, the interests of the people involved,” according to The Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken. The settlement came in response to four team cheerleaders’ allegations that Rich Dalrymple, the franchise’s longtime public relations chief who recently retired, filmed them as they changed clothes inside a locker room before an event in Arlington, sources told The Dallas Morning News on Feb. 16.

“We took these allegations very seriously. We immediately began ... 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 suspensions,” Jones told NBC last month. “As it turns out, in the best interest of our cheerleaders, and 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.” ESPN first reported two separate voyeurism allegations against Dalrymple, occurring five months apart in 2015. One involved Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders members at AT&T Stadium and the other a Cowboys senior executive, team owner Jerry Jones’ daughter, Charlotte Jones. Dalrymple, who spent 32 years with the franchise, denied both accusations in a statement. He announced his retirement Feb. 2 as senior vice president of public relations and communications. “People who know me, co-workers, the media and colleagues, know who I am and what I’m about,” Dalrymple said in the statement. “I understand the very serious nature of these claims and do not take them lightly. The accusations are, however, false. One was accidental and the other simply did not happen. Everything that was alleged was thoroughly investigated years ago, and I cooperated fully.”