In an unexpected yet historic way to kick off Pride Month, the Carolina Panthers just made history with the franchise’s new cheerleading squad. It’s been confirmed that Justine Lindsay is now the first openly transgender cheerleader for an NFL team — and she’ll officially wear the blue and black uniform next football season for the Carolina Panthers.
@BuzzFeedNews reports, Justine Lindsay, 29, has a lot to celebrate these days and all thanks to TopCats, cheerleading for the Carolina Panthers. Setting a new tone for representation in the NFL, Lindsay is now the first openly transgender cheerleader in the league’s history. In a post on her Instagram account announcing her groundbreaking new role, she wrote, “You’re watching Cats Out the Bag as the newest member of @topcats Carolina Panthers TopCats Cheerleader as the the first transgender woman”.
Talking about her feelings in her first interview since announcing to the world that she is transgender, Justine Lindsay said, “I was scared. There are just some things you can’t post. I just feel like when I post it, it doesn’t matter what people’s reactions are. And then my phone started to explode. She also added that she’s happy to be able to “break that door” for future transgender cheerleaders who come after her.
The director of the Carolina Panthers TopCats, Chandalae Lanouette, said that although Lindsay revealed that she was transgender in her application, she was selected to the team based solely on her talent and not as a person. diverse recruiters.
“My goal is to create a team of individuals who are absolutely fiery on the pitch but incredible in the dressing room, good friends, good people, and at the end of the day you have to Step through the front door to get to that location,” Lanouette announced.
It’s only within the past few years that NFL cheerleaders have begun to actively add diversity to their roster — finally allowing men to cheer, for example. However, progress has been significantly slower for women, as most NFL cheerleaders have “all-American” beauty standards, which often exclude people of color and those with body type or gender. different properties.
Justine Lindsay hopes that by making history with the Carolina Panthers, she will eventually change things once and for all.
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