While the Cowboys season came to an end in the playoffs, their off season is not off to a good start as ESPN is reporting that the team paid out millions to a group of cheerleaders to settle some serious allegations against one of the team's executives.

Four Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Allege That A Cowboys Executive Took Cell Phone Photos Of Them While In Their Dressing Room

According to a lengthy report from ESPN, the incident allegedly took place on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, during the Cowboys annual Kickoff Luncheon. The cheerleaders, in statements given to their attorneys, said that they returned to their locker room shortly after noon to quickly change their clothes before attending the luncheon. The locker room is usually guarded by two guards but on this particular only one guard was on duty and one of the doors to the locker room was unguarded. The women heard the "unguarded" door open and one of them noticed a man's hand and a black cellphone pointed in their direction, certain that the person was taking photos or video of them.

Under Texas law it could be a misdemeanor to secretly observe someone without their consent and a felony to take a photo or video of "an intimate area of another person" without their consent.

The cheerleaders immediately reported what had happened to a security guard who wanted to report the incident to the Arlington Police Department but police were not called. One of the cheerleaders reported that she recognized the man with the cellphone as Richard Dalrymple, the Cowboys' PR man for 32 years, who she said dashed away.

The Cowboys conducted an internal investigation that claimed they found "no wrongdoing"

Despite this and another allegation that Dalrymple was accused by a lifelong Cowboys fan of taking "upskirt" photos of Charlotte Jones Anderson, a team senior vice president and the daughter of team owner Jerry Jones, in the Cowboys' war room during the 2015 NFL draft, the team issued Dalrymple a formal written warning in October 2015. Dalrymple called the allegations against him "false". As attorneys and the team wrangled for months over the allegations, a settlement/nondisclosure agreement was drawn up that bound the women and the team executives to secrecy. On May 16, 2016, the agreement was signed by the four cheerleaders and their spouses and lawyers.

Dalrymple Continued To Work For The Team For 6 Years After The Settlement.

The team settled with the cheerleaders and paid $2.4 million dollars, Each of the women received $399,523.27 after the incident. As for Dalrymple, On Feb. 2, he "immediately" retired after 32 years as Jerry Jones' chief spokesman and confidant. His "sudden" retirement came several weeks after ESPN says they began interviewing people about the alleged incidents and just days after ESPN contacted attorneys involved in the settlement.

While Dalrymple thanked the team and the Jones family, no one on behalf of the team acknowledged his years of service, and his retirement was not mentioned on the team's website.