Sexual Harassment Lessons from The Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins: Lessons in Workplace Sexual Harassment

Cowboys — sex — cheerleaders — now Redskins. Over the last 25 years, the Washington Football Team (née Redskins) has been a consistent lesson in what not to do both on and off the field. In addition to putting forth a consistently subpar football team, the organization exhibits a culture that tolerates and promotes unlawful sexual harassment.

The New York Times and Washington Post have done an excellent job of chronicling the allegations against the misbegotten franchise. Unfortunately, they reveal textbook workplace sexual harassment that California law (and federal law under Title VII) prohibits.

In 2018, the New York Times ran a story detailing sexual harassment allegations from former Redskins cheerleaders. The cheerleaders described being subject to behavior at a 2013 calendar photoshoot at a Costa Rican resort that illustrate sexual harassment concepts under both California and federal law.

At this photoshoot, the team required some cheerleaders to be topless — they told the Times — while others wore nothing but body paint. This alone may not be outside the norm for bikini calendar photoshoots, but the Redskins had invited an all-male contingent of sponsors and stadium suite holders to watch the shoot up close.

These situation are an unfortunate example of "hostile environment" sexual harassment. Both California law and federal law forbid hostile environment sexual harassment (and other kinds of employment discrimination). California's applicable civil rights law is the Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA"). The federal law that forbids this kind of sexual harassment is known as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — or "Title VII" for short — and is codified in 42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq.

Codified in Government Code § 12940(a), the FEHA prohibits discrimination in the terms, conditions or privileges of employment on the basis of sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation (as well as certain other prohibited characteristics). Another FEHA provision, Government Code § 12940(j)(1), bars harassment on the basis of those same protected characteristics

Under both Title VII and FEHA, to win on a hostile environment sexual harassment claim, a plaintiff must show that they were (1) subject to unwelcome sexual advances, conduct, or comments, (2) that this conduct was based on their sex, and (3) that the conduct was “so severe or pervasive” as to “alter the conditions of the victim's employment and create an abusive working environment.” Meritor Sav. Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 US 57, 67, (1986); see also, Fisher v. San Pedro Peninsula Hosp., 214 CA3d 590, 608 (1989).

These are not the only example of hostile environment sexual harassment that these cheerleaders experienced. The Washington Post reported that team executives directed employees to make videos of compromising behind-the-scenes clips from similar photoshoots. These clips included ones where the cheerleaders’ nipples were exposed as they shifted positions or adjusted props, and a zoomed in shot of a cheerleader’s pubic area, obscured only by gold body paint. The team’s broadcaster and senior vice president allegedly called these clips “the good bits” when directing a member of his staff to put together the video for team owner Dan Snyder.

Another Washington Post news story detailed how this hostile environment extended beyond the cheerleaders and into (then) owner Dan Snyder’s front office. Problematic conduct included:

a male executive telling a female employee that he and his colleagues debated whether her breasts were surgically enhanced, and telling another female employees in a text message to expect an “inappropriate hug. And don't worry that will be a stapler in my pocket, nothing else.”
a male executive imploring females sales staff to wear low-cut blouses, tight skirts and flirt with wealthy suiteholders, and even repeatedly offering to connect one saleswoman with a plastic surgeon if she wanted breast enhancement surgery;
another male executive pinching a female reporter and telling her she had “an ass like a wagon;”
a male senior executive routinely discussing the appearance of female colleagues in sexual and disparaging undertones; and
male coaches and other male team staffers repeatedly inviting female staffers to their hotel rooms during training camp in Richmond, VA.

Sexual harassment lessons learned

If you have (1) experienced workplace sexual conduct like this, (2) believe you are the victim of other kinds of unlawful discrimination, or (3) believe that a co-worker is the victim of such conduct, you should consult immediately with an experienced employment civil rights lawyer at The Cowan Law Firm. A good employment trial lawyer can help you report your experience of harassment or discrimination in a way that will best protect your rights while minimizing the risk of retaliation. A good sexual harassment lawyer also can help you take steps to protect whatever evidence exists that supports your story. Because waiting to report experiencing this unlawful conduct can hurt your chances of successfully vindicating your rights, it is key that you contact a lawyer promptly so he or she can best advise you on what to do next.

Conversely, if you are an employer, you should make sure you have effective policies to best prevent either sexual harassment or other unlawful discrimination – and confirm that they are implemented and are not just “dead” pieces of paper. Doing so protects both employees and the employer by helping minimize unlawful conduct and also effectively responding to it if it does occur. If you want to ensure that your business has effective sexual harassment prevention policies, or if sexual harassment allegations have been raised against you, call The Cowan Law Firm to discuss your situation. We are prepared to help you or your company prevail through litigation or settlement negotiations.

The information in this essay is not legal advice; it is provided for general educational purposes only. Los Angeles employment trial lawyer Jeffrey Cowan has decades of experience helping victims of sexual harassment – as well as businesses that either want to stop sexual harassment from happening in their workplaces in the first place or who find themselves facing such allegations. To learn more, contact Mr. Cowan by either calling (310) 394-1420 or emailing him via info@cowan-law.com. You can also learn more about some of the firm’s sexual harassment victories by visiting Settlements and Verdicts.