WASHINGTON (WUSA) — Two Washington Redskins cheerleaders deny being forced to do anything on what has been described as an inappropriate trip to Costa Rica in 2013.
Two former Redskins cheerleaders, Maya Bonello, and Tedi Tzinares, told WUSA9 in an exclusive interview that they were not forced to pose nude in front of suiteholders and sponsors, nor forced to go out with those same men after a photo shoot, despite five other cheerleaders telling the New York Times the contrary.
"Every photo shoot experience that year was totally voluntary in terms of what the girls were wearing and also who was able to be there at the shoot," Tzinares said.
When Bonello first heard about the story, she said that it was "very exaggerrated."
"I feel like they took something and really blew it up," Bonello said.
Tzinares and Bonello said the experiences of the five women who spoke to the New York Times were a matter of perspective.
Bonello pointed out the differences in age range on the 36-member squad and how "you can't expect every person to have the same experience and perspective."
Tzinares echoed that point.
"Where one person might feel totally comfortable with anyone watching, another person might feel really uncomfortable with it. And that's OK - I think the problem is, why did those women not feel comfortable coming forward and saying that at the time so that we could have supported them and helped remove them from a situation they didn't want to be in?" Tzinares said.
"Do I necessarily agree with everything point made in (the New York Times) article? Absolutely not," Tzinares said.
Bonello made the team when she was only 18. She spent 6 years on the squad. She said that being topless was "never forced on me" and that her decision to not want to be topless was "always respected."
"I think it's normal in any job that you have a little bit of implied pressure to try to do things to, you know, make your way, right? But I think that goes back to the big picture problem that women going into any role, whether it's pro cheerleader or any job that they're in, need to have the confidence and security that they have a voice that they can say 'no' or they can say they're not comfortable with it," Tzinares said.
"No one is ever forced to do anything as a Washington Redskins cheerleader. It's completely choice and that's what I love about the program, that you can have all these women, range of ages, range of experiences, have totally different opinions of what they're comfortable with, and that's always respected," Tzinares said.
The two cheerleaders pointed to the varied perspectives of the trip when asked about why they think the five women spoke to the New York Times.
"We're in an era of the #MeToo movement, and I think it is empowering and inspiring to watch women come out and speak about things that they felt uncomfortable about in the past, I love that. But I think when you're more secure and comfortable with your current life, you're able to look back on past experiences with less regret and more positivity, and I don't think that happened with the women that spoke out to the New York Times," Tzinares said.
"Have I felt uncomfortable before? Sure, yeah, especially when I was 18 years old when I first joined the team. The thing is I can always remove myself from those situations," Bonello said.
Tzinares said she wasn't uncomfortable with the suiteholders and sponsors being up close at the photo shoot, who according to the New York Times were all men, but that she always had second thoughts.
"I always had a question in the back of my mind, of 'why do they even need to be here in the first place?'" Tzinares said. Tzinares went on to point a finger at the Redskins organization for putting their Cheerleading director in a position to please those sponsors and suiteholders.
Bonello said that a part of the New York Times report that bothered her was the description of the team being told to take laxatives.
"That upsets me because we really care about the health of the girls," Bonello said.
Washington Redskins President Bruce Allen responded to the article, and said they were looking into the trip.
RELATED: Report: Redskins' Cheerleaders tell New York Times about an inappropriate trip to Costa Rica
