NFL's Washington Football Team reach settlement with former cheerleaders in 'lewd video' scandal

The Washington Football Team have reached a financial settlement with several of their former cheerleaders who were recorded in 'lewd videos' without their knowledge during swimsuit calendar photoshoots in more than ten years ago.

The settlement - which reports indicate came in 2020 - comes after videos were allegedly produced in 2008 and 2010 from outtakes of a calendar shoot showing the team's cheerleaders in various states of undress, with the Washington Post reporting last year that the videos were produced at the request of team owner Dan Snyder and former vice president and commentator Larry Michael. Both strenuously deny the allegations. 

News of the settlement comes amid relentless investigations into the culture of the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins which also includes probes into allegations of sexual harassment made by 15 women against former employees of the NFL team. Per NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, that particular investigation, which is headed by lawyer Beth Wilkinson, is said to be "nearing completion". 

"To me, the important thing in the context of this is that the Washington football club has made a lot of changes already," said Goodell.

"Dan and Tanya [Snyder] are going to be done making those changes for the football club. It's good to see that. But I expect that Beth's recommendations will be something that will be added to that."

The franchise has since "paused" its cheerleader program as they continue with their rebranding after ditching their "Redskins" moniker due to perceived racial insensitivity. However, ESPN reports that the temporary closure of the team's cheerleading ranks is unrelated to the lewd video investigation and that it is expected to resume in the future.

The team has yet to make any substantive announcement as to what the team's name may be in future. The "Football Team" nickname was initially implemented as a placeholder to allow time for branding analysts to put forth a suggestion for a further identity change, but reports indicate that team officials are considering it as a candidate to be implemented permanently.

"The time is right to reimagine our entire game day experience, to reinvent it in a way that reflects our modern identity and aligns with what today's fan seeks," team president Jason Wright said.

However, critics of the move say that the term "Redskins" has long bypassed any accusations of racism and that the large-scale opposition to it is just another example of the "woke" PC brigade shouting into a self-created abyss.