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Reports: Washington Football Team to drop cheerleading squad for co-ed dance team

The Washington Football Team will replace its cheerleading squad with a dance team composed of men and women next season, multiple outlets have reported.

The team itself hasn’t released an official statement on the matter yet, but has retweeted several reports about the move, most prominently USA Today’s.

The newspaper reported that Petra Pope, who has managed the Laker Girls and the Knicks City Dancers as part of her 14 years in the NBA designing “gameday experiences,” will direct the dance squad.

The team itself said on Twitter: “We’re excited to welcome famed NBA entertainment exec Petra Pope to the team! Petra will help us design and reimagine a unique gameday experience for our fans once we can all gather again at FedExField.”

Pope told USA Today, “”We want to be more inclusive, so we are going to invite a coed entity (to audition). We’re able to do more things with the strength of a male, and lifts, so that’s changed a great deal. The inclusivity, strength and interest of choreography has changed.”

In 2018, several cheerleaders told The New York Times they felt “pimped out” by the team on a photo shoot for a swimsuit calendar in Costa Rica, claiming they were forced to go topless in front of men who were season suite holders and sponsors and accompany sponsors to a nightclub. Some also claimed that outtakes of video clips of them undressed were made and circulated among team workers.

The team has denied that such videos existed, even though The Washington Post said it had seen them. A lawyer for the team and owner Daniel Snyder told USA TODAY Sports the matter “has been resolved.”

The Post reported last month that the team had reached a settlement in the matter.

Pope told USA Today that there were no plans to make any more calendars.

Here are the important 2023 NFL offseason dates fans should know

Important 2023 NFL offseason dates fans should know originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThe NFL is currently in the thick of its offseason, but there are still plenty of key dates to circle before the 2023 season kicks off on September 7.Here are important offseason dates to know...2023 NFL Offseason Key DatesMarch 13-15: NFL teams are permitted to begin negotiating with prospective free agents, but no deals can be signed just yet.March 15: New league year begins at 4 p.m. Free agents are now permitted to sign contracts with clubs.March 26-29: Annual league meetings in PhoenixApril 3: Teams with new head coaches (Carolina, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis and Arizona) can begin offseason workout programsApril 17: Teams with returning head coaches can begin offseason workout programsApril 26-29: 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City May 2: Deadline to exercise fifth-year options on first-round picks from the 2020 NFL DraftMay 5-8 or May 12-15: Teams can hold three-day rookie camps for draft picks and undrafted free agentsMay 22: First day of OTAs for select teams. Clubs are allowed to hold 10 total on-field practices, but no live contact is allowed.May 22-24: NFL spring league meetingsJune 6: Start of mandatory minicamp for select teams. Clubs are allowed to have three mandatory practices.July 17: Deadline for teams with franchise-tagged players to sign a long-term contract extension. Teams are not allowed to re-engage in negotiations with a franchise player after this date until the conclusion of the 2023 season.August 3-6: NFL kickoff weekend in Canton, OhioSeptember 7: Opening game of the 2023 NFL regular season
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