Someone is writing threatening, rambling letters about cheerleaders and their TV time.

Now the FBI is asking for help tracking down the author, who either lives in Seattle or spends time here.

Cheerleaders are often the so-called "bump shots" in and out of commercials.

Whoever's writing the threatening letters says photographers are "pigs (who) park their cameras on us close up," one letter reads. "front view, dozens of times each game, yet rarely ever show on TV in this manner, unless squads are wearing sweaters, jackets, under shirts."

The writer says women are exploited by photographers, in part because they have to be more covered up to get the TV time.

"It's a little confusing to us at this point, but maybe not to someone who knows the writer," says FBI Special Agent Fred Gutt.

We showed excerpts from the letters to Deanna Raihl, a former Sea Gal.

She says it would be easy for a fan to get confused, because photographers always appear to be taking pictures

"They don't actually have their cameras on. They're waiting for their cue. For that commercial cue. And those of us on the field know they're not necessarily taking our picture right then," Raihl says.

The first batch of letters went out in September of 2004 with a Portland postmark.

Then, there was a 2 year lag.

Then the next batch came from Seattle between November 2006 and February of this year.
Dozens went around the country.

"Half the letters to date have contained a powdery substance which our laboratory identified as containing a potentially harmful insecticide," says Special Agent Gutt. "No one's been hurt. But that's our concern, tracking this person down and addressing their grievances before someone gets hurt, whether they continue with these mailings in this manner or they escalate."

Clinical Psychologist Dr. Ken Muscatel says the person wouldn't be getting any attention if it wasn't for that insecticide powder.

"They're obsessed and they're focused and probably delusional," he says. "This is what they're life is about. They're focused on this issue as if it really matters."

And what about the complaint that networks prefer long sleeves?

Deanna Raihl says the networks try to be conservative - but she got the same TV time whether she was in a cap and long pants or a sleeveless, midriff baring outfit.

"Cheerleaders, we don't get a whole lot of coverage time anyway," she says. "If anybody makes even 10 seconds. The majority of the time is paid by sponsors and advertisers."

FBI-released Excerpts

The FBI is releasing the following portions of two letters in the hopes that the public can help provide information as to the identity of the author:

Excerpt from September 2004 letter:

"We are fed up with networks exploiting women in sports coverage. ABC/ESPN exploit collegiate and professional cheer squads in their coverage of football and basketball. They also screw WNBA players and WTA Tennis players. Compare coverage of cheer and dance squads based on their outfits they wear. Compare quality of shots, length of shots and number of shots Pigs park their cameras on us close up, front view, dozens of times each game, yet rarely ever show on TV in this manner, unless squads are wearing sweaters, jackets, under shirts, etc... Watch how they always zoom in on WNBA players shooting free throws then leave at the last second as she starts to shoot, disrupting the flow. Watch on ESPN how they will show women serve, close up, from every angle (side, back) EXCEPT when they zoom in close front, they will leave as she starts to serve, disrupting the flow. We have asked nicely for them to respect us and all women, yet they refuse. They exploit innocent people, so we will too. When they start respecting us, we stop mailing these out."

Excerpt from December 2006 letter:

"For the past 6-7 years, ESPN and its nationwide networks have exploited cheer/dance teams all across the country. They do this by parking their TV cameras on these women for their own personal entertainment, but only give TV time to squads that wear long sleeved shirts, jackets, sweaters, etc. The squads that don't wear these types of outfits? They get EXPLOITED. For a long time we have warned ESPN the networks and several schools what would happen if this did not change. For the last 6 years, Ohio State cheerleaders have received more TV time than any other Division 1A cheer squad on ESPN, because they wear long sleeved red/white outfits. If they wore sleeveless outfits, they would not get ANY TV time. So, we are fed up with this constant exploitation."

A $5,000 reward is being offered to anyone with information leading to the identification of the individual(s) responsible for sending these letters. Anyone with information pertaining to this matter is asked to contact their local FBI office or, nationally, toll free at (866)915-8299.