Kristan Ann Ware, 27, filed a complaint on Wednesday with the Florida Commission on Human Relations saying she quit the Miami Dolphins dance squad after a 2016 interview with the team director during which her sexual history was discussed. Ms. Ware filed a complaint against the Dolphins and the NFL with a state labour board. In the complaint, Ms. Ware alleges she faced hostility and retaliation from Dolphins cheerleading coaches and was discriminated against on behalf of her gender and religion. She and her lawyer say the NFL could do more to protect cheerleaders, but instead has ignored them.

As told to BBC, Ms. Ware said that her complaint should not be misconstrued as an attack on the American football team. “I am not against them. I just want to make it a better place for the cheerleaders,” she said in a telephonic interview on Friday. Ms. Ware quit the team after three years, claiming that an incident on a coach bus in London led to ongoing harassment. When her team played the New York jets at Wembley Stadium in the fall of 2015, the dancers talked about their ‘sex playlist’, Ms. Ware says in her complaint. She further claims that she ‘was pushed to give her playlist’, which prompted her to admit she was a virgin.

Also, as part of her claims, Ms. Ware argues the team’s main Instagram account did not promote her posts that mentioned her Christian religion. She also says that when she wrote a ‘motivation Monday’ story for the Dolphins blog about her audition for the team, her references to God and Christ were edited out. In the fall of 2016, Ms. Ware alerted a Dolphins’ human resources representative, the complaint states. While the representative was understanding, Ms. Ware said the abusive treatment from the coaches continued.

Although the Dolphins have not made any statement regarding the complaint, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, “The NFL and all NFL member clubs support fair employment practices. Everyone who works in the NFL, including cheerleaders, has the right to work in a positive and respectful environment that is free from all forms of harassment and discrimination and fully complies with state and federal laws. Our office will work with our clubs in sharing best practices and employment-related processes that will support club cheerleading squads within an appropriate and supportive workplace.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 14, 2018 05:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).