<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1654531343196,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017f-e2f4-de00-a7ff-e7fff8030000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1654531343196,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017f-e2f4-de00-a7ff-e7fff8030000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_54528443", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1026847"} }); ","_id":"00000181-39c0-df81-a381-7bf4b6540000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedThe Carolina Panthers have hired the league’s first transgender cheerleader.
Justine Lindsay, a biological male who identifies as female, is the first openly transgender cheerleader in the NFL. It doesn’t appear the team knew Lindsay was transgender before making the move. In an Instagram post announcing the decision, Lindsay came out to the team.
Outside of Lindsay’s family, no one else knew that Lindsay was transgender, including Lindsay’s best friend. Chandalae Lanouette, the director of the TopCats, the Panthers’ cheerleading squad, insisted that selecting Lindsay was not a diversity hire but was based on Lindsay’s merit.
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“My goal is to create a team of individuals that are absolute fire on the field but are incredible human beings in the locker room, good friends, good people. And at the end of the day, you have to walk through the door first to get to that spot,” Lanouette told BuzzFeed.
When not in the stadium, cheerleaders in the NFL often participate in community events, fundraisers, and volunteer work. Lindsay sees this as an opportunity to break down barriers for black transgender women.
“This is big. I think more people need to see this,” Lindsay said. “It’s not because I want recognition. It’s just to shed light on what’s going on in the world.”
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While cheer teams have made moves to hire more men, Lindsay is the first transgender cheerleader to be hired by an NFL team.
The announcement comes during Pride Month. It also follows a long conversation in the United States concerning transgender athletes, such as University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who won the NCAA Division 1 500-yard freestyle in March.
