Washington to drop cheerleaders in favor of coed dance team

Washington will not have cheerleaders for the first time since the NFL’S longest-running cheerleading team was founded in 1962, with a coed dance team taking its place.

The move is part of the organization’s rebranding effort and not related to a confidential settlement reached with members of the 2008 and 2010 cheerleading teams. Lawyers for the team and those cheerleaders told The Associated Press last month that“the matter has been resolved” but would not say when the settlement was reached.

Former Laker Girl manager Petra Pope was hired Wednesday as an adviser to use her three-plus decades of NBA experience to revamp the group.

“I’ve been asked to create a more modern entertainment team that is inclusive and diverse,” Pope said.“we just want to follow that mode of being more modern and a more modern franchise. Change is difficult, but I do feel that the fans will love what we bring to the table.”

The “First Ladies of Football” program was put on pause after last season, unrelated to allegations of team employees making inappropriate videos from calendar photo shoots of previous members in prior years. Washington on Monday made Joey Colby-begovich vice president of game-day experience, and Pope will be in charge of forming and naming the new dance team.

The contracts of previous members of the cheerleading team expired, Pope confirmed.

Pope said she’s convinced owner Dan Snyder and wife Tanya “are committed to bringing this team to a more modern level.”