Male dancers at NFL games are nothing new
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Minnesota Vikings cheerleader Louie Conn lines up with his teammates last Saturday during a preseason game against the New England Patriots. Photo: David Berding/Getty Images
Videos of two male cheerleaders dancing on the U.S. Bank Stadium field in recent weeks have drawn homophobic social media comments and claims that Vikings fans are canceling their season tickets.
Reality check: Anyone shocked to see Louie Conn and Blaize Shiek holding pom poms hasn't been to many NFL stadiums in recent years.
- A third of NFL teams already have male cheerleaders, some as far back as 2019.
Between the lines: Sports fans have been used to seeing male cheerleaders at college games for decades, typically as bases for stunts.
- But NFL cheerleading teams are more akin to dance teams, Dan Weaver, head coach of the University of Minnesota cheer team, told Axios. While a few NFL teams have men who do stunts, several of them have male dancers.
Flashback: The national title-winning U of M dance team — which is more similar to the Vikings cheer team — has had a man on the roster for three years. Weaver said the U community has been very supportive of the dancer, Matthew Greco.
What they're saying: There's been a culture shift in the industry in the past few years, and NFL teams are selecting the best dancers, and sometimes the best dancers are men, Weaver said.
- "Where people struggle is that when you get to the NFL, they kind of have always expected the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader look — the femininity, the pretty girls on the sideline."
The Vikings said in a statement that all cheerleaders go through the same rigorous audition process and "individuals were selected because of their talent, passion for dance and dedication to elevating the game day experience."
The bottom line: This may be a case where social media isn't real life.
- The Vikings told Axios that they've had no season ticket holder cancellations following the introduction of the two male cheerleaders, despite headline claims.
- When Weaver read the responses to those headlines, "it was pretty much overwhelming support for the male dancers and kind of calling out that headline."