The Carolina Panthers were in town to play the Buccaneers. It was 2 a.m. at Banana Joe’s nightclub in Tampa Bay the night before the NFL game. Some patrons were waiting for the bathroom and wanted to know why there was a delay. Annoyance grew into anger.
The Charlotte Observer reported that Renee Thomas (20) and Angela Keathley (26), TopCats cheerleaders with the Panthers, emerged from the bathroom to complaints from those waiting in line about the delay. Multiple witnesses claimed that the two were having sex in the bathroom.
It has not been reported what specifically was said to start the fight, but an altercation broke out between the TopCats and other patrons in the bar. The police arrived. Thomas was arrested and charged with battery, resisting arrest, and giving a false name to police. Keathley was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Panthers’ management woke up to a big surprise.
GettyThe incident embarrassed the Panthers organization and forced them to make some big changes.
How Did the Panthers Handle the Cheerleader Sex Scandal?
The Panthers immediately fired both cheerleaders from the TopCats. However, the problem ran much deeper than that. When the police arrived and Thomas was arrested, she used the name of another cheerleader who wasn’t even in Tampa. That complicated the situation for the police:
“We are trying to get the fingerprints of all the cheerleaders from the NFL so we can get this right,” said Lt. John Newman via the Charlotte Observer report. “The girls really look alike, so the last thing I want to do is base this on a photo.”
It took a lot of police work to identify Thomas, which kept the story in the news for days after. The bathroom sex scandal was “going viral” before it was even a concept. The Panthers’ scandal was featured on all the late-night talk shows and tabloids. It was prime material for comedians and watercooler conversations for months. It was the biggest story of the year for the Panthers.
On ESPN.com, more people e-mailed the story to friends the following Monday than any other story that year. The official website for the Carolina Panthers had to be shut down because the featured photos of the cheerleaders had so many hits.
The other Panthers cheerleaders bailed Thomas and Keathley out of Hillsborough County jail later Sunday morning. The Panthers beat the Buccaneers 34 to 14.
GettyThe Carolina Panthers are still dealing with the blowback of the cheerleader sex scandal twenty years later.
What was the Aftermath of the Bathroom Sex Scandal?
Angela Keathley received probation and had to complete a first-time offenders program. Charges against her were dropped once she completed the program. Renee Thomas pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors. She was sentenced to probation, community service, and anger-management classes. Sometime after the incident, Penthouse contacted both cheerleaders to pose nude.
In December, Thomas was sued by one of the patrons involved in the incident in a $15,000 civil suit. Thomas counter-sued for defamation. Her lawyer said that the story would die down once there is a “focus on the facts instead of the apparent male fantasies that the initial story touched upon.” The suit was thrown out once Thomas entered an 18-month pretrial intervention program.
Due to the allegations of public sex and the false ID angle, the story spread like wildfire. It hurt the Panthers organization as well as the NFL. Most teams tightened their “behavioral standards” for cheerleaders and players. The impact of the “Panthers cheerleader bathroom sex scandal” on the NFL is paramount. It’s still one of the most talked-about scandals in NFL history.
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