It's been a week since the NFL draft and a handful of Washington Redskins cheerleaders made some unflattering allegations in a New York Times article that was published on Tuesday. The article alleges that on a team trip to Costa Rica, the cheer team was forced to pose without tops during a photoshoot for a team calendar. Along with those allegations, there were additional details of the cheer team being treated as "objects" while on the trip in 2013. The Redskins say that they have first-hand accounts of the trip that refute the allegations made by the cheerleaders.

What happened on the trip to Costa Rica in 2013?

According to the New York Times, who cited five Washington Redskins cheerleaders, Washington's team cheerleaders were required to pose without tops or in body paint in front of a group of team sponsors and FedEx Field suite holders, who were all men, while on the Occidental Grand Papagayo Resort in Costa Rica. The resort happens to be an adults-only resort in a secluded area.

After a 14-hour day of doing the photo shoot, also unpaid, the Washington Post says that nine cheerleaders were chosen to be "escorts" of male sponsors attending a nightclub.

"They weren't putting a gun to our heads but it was mandatory for us to go," one anonymous cheerleader told the New York Times.

The cheerleader also said that the girls were devastated because they knew exactly what was going on.

The Washington Redskins and NFL have responded to the allegations.

in a statement, the Redskins President Bruce Allen said in part, "The Redskins organization is very concerned by the allegations involving our cheerleaders in the recent New York Times article.

We are immediately looking into the situation..."

Allen says that these allegations are a serious situation, but that a number of cheerleaders have given the team different first-hand accounts of what happened on that trip to Costa Rica in 2014.

The National Football League has remained relatively distant from the issue with a spokesman saying that the League employees deserve a fair workplace, but individual teams set policies towards cheerleaders.

"Everyone who works in the NFL, including cheerleaders, has the right to work in a positive and respectful environment that is free from any and all forms of harassment..."

In addition to these allegations, the NFL is already dealing with other lawsuits brought on by team cheerleaders.

Former New Orleans Saints cheerleaders Baily Davis and former Miami Dolphins cheerleader Kristan Ware are both suing the NFL for discrimination grievances.
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