HOUSTON – Another former Houston Texans Cheerleader joined a lawsuit against the team Friday, saying she was body-shamed.
Angelina Rosa says her body was duct-taped at a game because she was considered "skinny fat."
Rosa joined her lawyer Gloria Allred at a press conference at NFL headquarters in New York Friday morning.
"On numerous occasions I was belittled and body-shamed," Rosa said. "I was called out with the tern 'skinny-fat."
Photos: 2018-19 Texans Cheerleaders debut at Draft Party
Rosa said the hostile environment caused her to develop unhealthy eating habits after the coach told her she would not be allowed to dance at games if she didn't change her appearance.
In one instance, Rosa said a coach and some cheerleader alumni duct-taped her in the locker room prior to a game.
"I felt humiliated and ashamed of my own body," she said.
“My skin was pulled down and with the tape, taped under my shorts, just to slim out the area right here," Rosa said.
An effort she says to make her appear smaller.
“Before I knew it, Texans logo duct tape was found, and I heard 'this will hurt a bit' as I watched my skin being pulled, stretched, tape tightly on myself," Rosa said.
Rosa’s accusations are just the latest in a long line of allegations against the team.
“They want to make life better for the future NFL Cheerleaders, and it takes their courage for us to be able to win that change," Attorney Gloria Allred said.
“I realized my silence would only encourage the same treatment would only be done to the next girl," Rosa said.
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Allred said she will also provide copies of the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s response to her recent letter to him in which she urged the commissioner to stop NFL teams from exploiting cheerleaders by paying them only minimum wage and to stop the sexual harassment and abuse of these women in the NFL workplace.
“We're seeking damages for pain and suffering. We’re also seeking for lost wages," Allred said.
Rosa will join a lawsuit filed by former cheerleaders Hannah Turnbox, Ainsley Parish, Morgan Wiederhold, Ashley Rodriguez and Kelly Neuner.
“The Houston Texans have continued to engage in severe and continuous sex discrimination and they have not yet been held accountable in a court of law,” Allred said.
The women claim they were harassed and intimidated, forced to fear that they could be cut from the team for the slightest infraction, and that the organization did not put them first.
"As an example of when I was not protected. I was attacked by a fan at a game,” Hannah Turnbow, a former cheerleader, said. “My attacker was not approached. I was told to just suck it up.”
A group of former cheerleaders recently defended the Texans and HTC coach Alto Gary in an interview with KHOU 11 News anchor Mia Gradney.
They said they were treated with respect and the focus was on healthy bodies -- not skinny bodies.
"All of the Texans organization wanted all of the cheerleaders to be healthy," Former Cheerleader Madison Lee said.
The Texans released a statement in response to the initial lawsuit saying they do not tolerate mistreatment of their employees, and they look forward to vigorously defending themselves against the allegations.