More than a third of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders have quit, saying new owner Jerry Jones threatened their wholesome image with skimpier costumes and relaxed rules that would let them fraternize with players and drink in uniform.
Jones, calling the 37 cheerleaders "the pick of the litter," denied the rules would be changed.At issue, he said, is determining how cheerleaders will be punished when they break the rules. If cheerleaders fraternize with players or drink in uniform, he would like to review their behavior rather than summarily firing them as they would be now, he said at a news conference after Director Debbie Bond resigned, taking 14 veteran cheerleaders with her.
"I have a great confidence in the ability of adults to make the right decisions when they know what the policy is," Jones said. "Those girls in the past and these girls now are wonderful women."
The 23 rookie members have until Monday to decide whether to stay.
Those who left said they were upset by a proposal to have them dress in halter tops and biker shorts made of body-hugging stretch fabric.
"If it were my daughter I would not want her to wear that uniform," said Bond, who said she would rather retire than give up the cheerleaders' high standards.
Jones said he has nothing against the current uniform of shorts, long-sleeved blue shirts tied in the front to leave the midriff partially bare, a fringed bolero-type vest, and white boots.
"I'm a father; I have a daughter; I know how proud fathers and mothers are in the past of their daughters being a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. And I know how proud I want them to be in the future," Jones said.
"Those policies are intact. They are a very valuable and time-tested procedure.,"
The squad set the standards for NFL cheerleaders beginning with Super Bowl X in 1976 when a cheerleader winked into a camera and captured the attention of the nation, Bond said.
They had their first open auditions in the spring of 1976, and cheerleaders now work for $15 a game - $13.94 after taxes, said squad founder Suzanne Mitchell, who resigned after 15 years with the Cowboys when Jones bought the team in February.
Bond, who has been with the organization for 10 years, said she talked with Jones on Thursday after hearing that the Arkansas oilman had told the players they would be fraternizing with the cheerleaders.
"He said, `You can either accept it or move on,"' Bond said. "Mr. Jones does not believe in rules."