14 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Quit : But Owner Denies He Wants Them to Wear Briefer Costumes, Advertise Beer

Fourteen members of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders say they are quitting the squad because new owner Jerry Jones wants them to wear skimpier uniforms, fraternize with the players and appear in beer commercials.

Jones denied that he wanted to make such changes.

“When (quarterback) Roger Staubach went out, he went out on top. They have retired. I’m resigning,” cheerleader director Debbie Bond, 36, said today.

In addition to Bond, all 14 veteran cheerleaders have said they will leave the team because of the dispute over the uniforms, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The 23 rookie members have until Monday to decide if they will stay with the squad, which has been training in summer camp since May 6.

Bond, who has been with the organization for 10 years, said earlier that she talked with Jones on Thursday after hearing that the Arkansas oilman had told the players that there would be fraternization between the players and cheerleaders.

‘Accept It or Move On’

“He said, ‘You can either accept it or move on,’ ” Bond said. “Mr. Jones does not believe in rules.”

Under former owner H. R. (Bum) Bright, the cheerleaders were not allowed to drink or even be photographed with someone holding a drink while they were wearing their uniforms.

Twiggy Isip, 21, a two-year veteran of the squad, said Jones “wanted to change the uniform, and do you know what he wanted? Biker shorts and a halter top. He wants us to play hostess at parties and fraternize with the team. We’ve never done that.”

“The worst thing is--he wants us to be in beer commercials,” she said. “We’ve never even been able to have a drink in our hand.”

The current cheerleader uniform is shorts, long-sleeved blue shirts tied in the front to leave the midriff partially bare, a fringed bolero-type vest, and white boots. Biker shorts are made of an elastic material that molds to the body, while a halter top leaves the arms and back mostly bare.

In an early afternoon news conference at the Cowboys’ Valley Ranch headquarters, Jones said the rule remains in effect calling for cheerleaders not to fraternize with players or employees.

“Those policies are intact. They are a very valuable and time-tested procedure,” Jones said.

He said he likes the traditional uniform of the cheerleaders and did not plan to change it. “It seems as though a lot of what was said in the meeting was speculation,” he said.

The cheerleading squad had its first open auditions in the spring of 1976, and cheerleaders now work for $15 a game--$13.94 after taxes, said Suzanne Mitchell, who founded the squad at former President and General Manager Tex Schramm’s suggestion.

Mitchell resigned after 15 years with the Cowboys when Jones bought the team in February.