BIKER SHORTS? : Cheerleaders Quit Cowboys, Say No to Beer, Fraternization

More than one-third of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders walked off the squad Friday to protest skimpier uniforms, saying they also were asked to act as hostesses at parties, fraternize with the team and appear in beer commercials.

However, the Cowboys’ new owner, Jerry Jones, calling the 37 cheerleaders “the pick of the litter,” said that he hasn’t changed any rules or policies.

“Those policies are intact,” he said. “They are a very valuable and time-tested procedure. It seems as though a lot of what was said . . . was speculation.

“Those girls in the past and these girls now are wonderful women.”

Jones spoke at a news conference after cheerleader Director Debbie Bond resigned, taking all 14 veteran cheerleaders with her.

The 23 rookie members have until Monday to decide whether to stay.

Those who left said they were upset by a proposal to have them dress in halter tops and shorts made of body-hugging stretch fabric.

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

“If it were my daughter, I would not want her to wear that uniform.”

But Jones said he has nothing against the current cheerleader uniform of shorts, long-sleeved blue shirts tied in the front to leave the midriff bare, a fringed bolero-type vest and white boots.

“I’m a father,” Jones said. “I have a daughter; I know how proud fathers and mothers are in the past of their daughters being a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. And I know how proud I want them to be in the future.”

Twiggy Isip, 21, a two-year veteran of the squad, said there would be a new uniform.

“And do you know what he wanted? Biker shorts and a halter top,” Isip said. “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. We’ve never even been able to have a drink in our hand.”

Jones denied asking the cheerleaders to appear in beer commercials.

At issue, he said, is determining how cheerleaders will be punished if they break the rules. Under present rules, he said, cheerleaders who drink or fraternize with players are summarily fired.

He said he’d prefer to review their behavior in determining what punishment would apply.

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

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

The Cowboy cheerleaders, who had their first open auditions in the spring of ‘76, set the standards for National Football League cheerleaders, according to Bond.

Cheerleaders work for $15 a game, squad founder Suzanne Mitchell said.