Former Dallas Cowboys VP Rich Dalrymple denies cheerleaders’ accusations of voyeurism
Recently retired Dallas Cowboys senior vice president Rich Dalrymple 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.
The 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 in 2016. 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 led the team’s public relations department and had been team owner Jerry Jones’ personal confidant and gatekeeper for the last 32 years, denied the accusations in a statement issued through Jim Wilkinson, a public relations consultant hired by the Cowboys.
“People who know me, co-workers, the media and colleagues, know who I am and what I’m about,” Dalrymple said in his 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.”
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.”
According to the ESPN report, one of the cheerleaders alleged that she saw Dalrymple standing behind a partial wall in their locker room with his phone extended toward them while they were changing their clothes.
Dalrymple, who gained entry to the back door of the cheerleaders’ locked dressing room by using a security key card, told team officials he entered the cheerleaders’ locker room not knowing the women were there and left right away.
Dalrymple’s phone was confiscated and a forensics investigation found no photos or videos had been taken or deleted.
Even though the Cowboys found no wrongdoing, they 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, Wilkinson said.
“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.”
Wilkinson also made it clear that the Cowboys found no evidence at all of the alleged upskirt incident. He told ESPN that if Jerry Jones believed ”someone did anything like that to a member of his family, that person would have been fired immediately.”
Dalrymple worked six more years with the Cowboys before his retirement, which came several weeks after ESPN began investigating the 2015 incidents.
Dalrymple said the allegations “had nothing to do with my retirement from a long and fulfilling career, and I was only contacted about this story after I had retired.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 1:26 PM.
