NFL Fans Furious After Leagues Latest Change

Photo: Chris Rubino / Shutterstock

The NFL did not “sneak in” male cheerleaders this year; teams have been fielding them for years, and fans’ reactions say more about culture than sidelines.

Story Snapshot

Multiple NFL teams currently roster male cheerleaders and stunt performers.
The Los Angeles Rams put the first male dancers on an NFL cheer team in 2018.
Tryouts in Los Angeles were open to everyone; two men simply showed up and made it.
Backlash exists, but teams have held their ground and kept mixed squads.

Male Cheerleaders Are Not New—They Are Now Visible

Los Angeles broke a modern barrier in 2018 when two trained dancers, Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies, made the Rams’ cheer team and later performed at Super Bowl LIII, a first for the league’s big stage. Team officials said tryouts were always open; the difference was that men finally tried and won spots. That detail undercuts claims of some top-down social agenda. The door stood open. Talent walked through it. Fans then saw what had been common in college cheer for decades: mixed teams with defined roles.

Rosters across the league now reflect that blend. Lists for the 2025 season show 11 teams with male cheerleaders, from the Ravens and Rams to the Saints, Eagles, 49ers, Patriots, Titans, Colts, Chiefs, Panthers, and Vikings. Some squads classify men as stunt performers who lift and toss, using raw strength for pyramids and partner work. Others place men alongside women in tight, high-energy choreography. Either way, these are jobs with standards. You make the cut, or you go home.

The Numbers, The Roles, The Why

Coverage notes dozens of men across those teams, with counts that shift by season and camp cuts, which is normal roster churn, not chaos. Function matters more than labels. Many clubs list men as stunt performers, which explains the need: safer lifts, bigger visual moments, and cleaner lines on the field. The entertainment product wins when the stunt is stable and the timing is sharp. That logic tracks with common sense and with the history of mixed-gender college cheer squads that perfected these skills long ago.

The Rams’ path also shows how change sticks when it works. After a wave of lawsuits and complaints around cheerleading pay and rules, teams rethought old norms, widened tryouts, and still kept standards high. Two men earned slots in Los Angeles because they danced better than the other candidates that day. That is merit, not messaging. Results convinced skeptics faster than press releases did. By the time the Rams reached the Super Bowl with those dancers on the sidelines, the “shock” faded into “that routine hit its marks”.

The Backlash Is Loud, Not Defining

Some fans called teams embarrassing for adding men, and a few public figures mocked the moves online. The takes grabbed headlines, but they did not change rosters. Teams like the Vikings kept their male dancers and said they were proud of them. That is the correct test under any conservative reading: set a clear bar, let everyone compete, and back the people who earn it. If a stunt is cleaner or a routine lands harder, keep doing it. If it fails, fix it. Markets and scoreboards punish fluff.

This is the NFL Patriots MALE cheerleader. pic.twitter.com/fkPPDXeRYn

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) September 1, 2026

Anger also rests on a bad assumption about what cheerleading is supposed to be. The NFL sells a live show wrapped around a game. The band, the pyro, the camera hits, and the sideline crew all exist to lift the crowd and the broadcast. Mixed teams offer more tools for that job. Stronger lifts. Tighter formations. More dynamic visuals. If you want the best, you choose the best. The rest is noise. When the ball snaps, no one in the red zone cares who hit the toss-up at midfield.

Where This Goes Next

Expect more teams to recruit men for stunts first and dance second, because the risk-reward math favors strength on complex builds. Expect counts to change year to year, just like any roster. Expect the debate to flare when a clip goes viral, then fade when the next kickoff starts. If teams keep auditions open, judge on performance, and communicate the why—safer stunts, better shows—the controversy shrinks. That approach respects fans, protects athletes, and sticks to results over rhetoric.