Dallas Mavericks' cheerleader harassment allegations led to the squad covering up this upcoming basketball season, with less revealing outfits and "more wholesome" dance routines, the team's chief executive told the Dallas Morning News.
Cynthia Marshall said the change is part of a 100-day plan aimed at correcting problems that had rocked the NBA franchise, including claims of misconduct in the workplace, sexual harassment along with a culture of permissive and enabling behavior, the newspaper reported Wednesday.
"We want the focus to be on the dancers as artists and to highlight their skills, not be eye candy or sexualized," Marshall told the Morning News. "We love our dancers, but we are re-evaluating every aspect of this organization to make sure they are living up to the values we are instilling in the entire Mavericks operation."
Mavericks owner ABC's "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban hired Marshall after a Sports Illustrated expose on the team in February detailed sexual misconduct allegations inside the team's business office, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote.
Cuban had called wide-ranging allegations, which included then team president Terdema Ussery, "wrong" and "abhorrent," the newspaper said.
The Morning News reported that the team's skimpy crop tops and mini shorts will be replaced by comfortable athletic wear and its "shake your booty" dances will be replaced by professional-grade hip-hop and lyrical movements.
"Everyone should feel comfortable — both the performers and everyone in the arena," Marshall, a former AT&T executive, told the Morning News. "If someone brings a 10-year-old to the game, I don't want them having to cover the kid's eyes during performances."
Marshall stressed to the Morning News, though, that the outfits and the dance moves were not the cause of sexual harassment allegations.
"The dancers are doing nothing wrong; what they wear and how they dance is a part of the culture and the atmosphere that has been around for the past two decades," Marshall told the newspaper. "We will be a part of the evolution that moves these dancers forward as athletes and entertainers."
The current changes comes as another Texas NBA team, the San Antonio Spurs, decided in May to get rid of its all-female dance squad in favor of a coed "hype team" that will be the 2018-19 season, according to the San Antonio Current.
The Current reported that the new squad, which does not have a name yet, would perform "family-friendly" skills like tumbling, acrobatics, dance and stunts. The team also will be part of community events and public appearances, as well as home game performances, the publication stated.
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