Another ex-Texans cheerleader joins suit
Former member says group’s director used duct tape on her before 2017 game
A former Texans cheerleader who says cheer director Alto Gary derided her as “skinny fat” and applied duct tape to her stomach before a 2017 game added her name Friday to one of two lawsuits filed against the team over payment and workplace issues.
Angelina Rosa, a two-year member of the cheerleading squad who said she also was a dancer for the Chicago Bulls and a member of the Astros’ Shooting Stars group, is the 10th cheerleader to join one of two suits filed against the team in Houston federal court.
Rosa is the sixth former cheerleader to sign on as a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred and Houston attorney Kimberly Spurlock. Four have joined a suit filed by Houston attorney Bruse Loyd seeking class action status.
While descriptions of the ducttaping incident were included in both lawsuits, Friday was the first time that Rosa was identified as the affected cheerleader.
Speaking alongside attorney Gloria Allred at a news conference in New York in front of the NFL’s offices, Rosa said that Gary told her to stay behind in the cheerleaders’ dressing room as the rest of the squad left for the field before a game.
As former cheerleaders looked on, she said, Gary applied duct tape to her body without asking her consent to do so. She said Gary told her “this will hurt a bit” and said she allowed the taping to continue even though she felt “humiliated and ashamed of my own body.”
Taping ‘was painful’
Rosa, who said she stands 5 feet 4 and weighs about 125 pounds, said the taping “was painful. My skin was being torn because of the movements (of dancing). … I stand here today to try to make sure no other girl or woman has to endure this same humiliation.”
Rosa said Gary frequently used the phrase “skinny fat” to refer to women who didn’t have the “abs or the dimensions or the perfection that is required.” She said she limited her diet to popcorn and water in an effort to avoid gaining weight and added, “I’m appalled at the way I treated myself.”
“Fear on our team was huge. Nobody wanted to talk out. Nobody wanted to step up, although we all felt the same,” she said.
Both lawsuits accuse the Texans of failing to pay minimum wage and overtime for hours spent on the job, and both allege other workplace violations.
The Texans have denied the allegations and have filed motions seeking their dismissal. If the cases are not dismissed, the Texans want them delayed while allegations are submitted to arbitration before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Differing accounts
Since the lawsuits were filed, several former cheerleaders have told local news outlets, including the Chronicle, that they were not subjected to the abuses described by their fellow former cheerleaders.
“I never experienced or even witnessed some of the allegations that I have seen in the media being made by these girls,” wrote Kayla Darlington, a three-year member of the squad. “I’m not sure what their motivation is, I can’t comment on what they say they went through. I can only speak for me and tell you that my experience and even what I witnessed was nothing like what I’ve heard through this lawsuit.”
Darlington added, referring to the lawsuit plaintiffs, “This handful of women do not represent the masses when it comes to HTC alumni.”
david.barron@chron.com twitter.com/dfbarron