NFL Films, the National Football League’s official production company has chronicled some of the sports’ most popular content for decades. But according to a recent lawsuit, it also objectified women with a raunchy database.
In a discrimination lawsuit filed against the NFL in January, former NFL Films human resources employee Victoria Russell alleges the production company archived lewd footage of women, according to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal. Russell claims she found “a chatroom log tracking time stamps on NFL footage and linking the time stamps to sexualized and offensive descriptions of women captured on that footage.”
According to the lawsuit, Russell saw categories that included “cheerleader buttocks,” “cheerleaders rear end,” “close up of cheerleaders’ breasts; cleavage shot,” “random woman, cleavage shot,” “female fan in bikini top,” “shot of endowed woman,” and “naughty camera work.”
NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told The Wall Street Journal the descriptions alleged by Russell are inaccurate, and claimed the images are labeled as “sensitive” to make sure no one publishes it in any future content.
“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.”
Russell says she found the disturbing chat room log after she did an audit of the company’s human resources system in 2018. She was fired by NFL Films last year.
In the lawsuit, Russell, who is Black, alleges the NFL’s corporate offices are filled with “rampant misconduct against women, particularly women of color.” Russell claims she was fired after complaining to the league’s diversity officer about overdue promotions and raises that her white and male colleagues were receiving in a timelier manner. The NFL has disputed Russell’s allegations.
“We are committed to providing all employees a workplace that is respectful, diverse, inclusive and free from discrimination and harassment,” McCarthy said. “The NFL didn’t discriminate or retaliate against Ms. Russell during her time as a temporary staff member. We will vigorously defend against these claims.”
Russell’s lawsuit adds to the mounting legal issues the NFL currently faces. The league is certainly is not new to accusations of toxic workplace culture or alleged mistreatment of women and minorities. The NFL is still investigating Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder over allegations of sexual harassment within the organization. The league is also being sued by Brian Flores and other Black coaches over racial discrimination.
