Three former Houston Texans cheerleaders filed a class-action lawsuit against the franchise and its director of cheerleading, alleging team officials forced them to work extra hours without compensation, exposed them to abusive, shaming behavior by the director and failed to protect them from physical abuse from fans.
Twitter direct messages, which two cheerleaders and their lawyer provided, show examples of cheerleaders being pressured to lose weight themselves or to urge teammates to lose weight. One unnamed plaintiff spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity. Paige G., who goes by her initials in the lawsuit, requested her last name not be used out of fear of retaliation against family members in the industry.