Former NFL Films human resource employee Victoria Russell has filed a lawsuit against the league accusing it of discrimination.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Russell is also claiming that the latter is in possession of footage featuring some lewd content, including the following:
• cheerleaders buttocks
• cheerleaders rear end
• female fan in bikini top
• naughty camera work
• close up of cheerleader’s breasts; cleavage shot
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• shot of endowed woman
• random woman, cleavage shot
The NFL has denied any wrongdoing via spokesman Brian McCarthy, who claims that the images in question are marked as “sensitive” so they become inaccessible.
“Those frames are logged as ‘sensitive’ so that they can be removed from circulation, meaning they will not be accessible to employees whose job it is to locate footage for productions,” McCarthy said. “Ms. Russell didn’t have credentials for the logging system, nor did any aspect of her responsibilities involve accessing footage.”
It’s worth noting that Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder is in trouble for something very similar. Snyder is accused of having someone in the organization secretly film explicit content featuring the team’s cheerleaders, with former Las Vegas Raiders coach John Gruden receiving several topless photos of Commanders cheerleaders. The NFL did nothing about this, so it’s not surprising that they would deny the allegations in the lawsuit mentioned above.
Russell worked for NFL Films between 2018 and 2022. She claims to have been denied a specific workspace, as well as the pay incentives and advancement opportunities that white and male employees were presented with.
The lawsuit notes that Russell was fired abruptly, while she was pregnant and without receiving any warnings over her performance, after complaining to the NFL’s chief diversity officer.
