NFL team faces backlash for having male cheerleaders on their cheer team

"I just lost all of my respect for the Vikings"

NFL cheerleaders Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn have attracted criticism on social media as representatives of the Minnesota Vikings.

Appearing in an Instagram Reel posted by their team this month, Shiek and Conn were introduced as 'the next generation of cheer' alongside a largely female dance troupe.

Even though the NFL (National Football League) has welcomed male cheerleaders since 2018, some of the Vikings' followers took umbrage with the pair's presence on the field.

"How embarrassing" and "I just lost all of my respect for the Vikings," read two backwards comments.

"Not watching ever again," added another sports fan, before somebody else angrily suggested 'absolutely no one wants to see this'.

In response to this backlash, the Vikings released a statement mentioning how "male cheerleaders have been a part of previous Vikings teams and have long been associated with collegiate and professional cheerleading.

"We support all our cheerleaders and are proud of the role they play as ambassadors of the organisation," it continued. "Every member of the Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders program has an impressive dance background and went through the same rigorous audition process."

Fellow cheerleaders Alex Fan, James LeGette and Dalton Walsh (of the Philadelphia Eagles) addressed the fan outcry on Good Morning America, with Fan revealing how they'd all experienced something similar throughout their time as dancers.

"All of us have had experiences like this since the time we started dancing, growing up, far before we became NFL cheerleaders," he shared.

"We know what it feels like to feel that somebody doesn't support you for simply doing something that you enjoy, and so it's been really a pleasure to be on a team that has multiple boys, where we can fall back on each other."

Walsh chipped in with: "I would say to keep on dancing. You're already doing what you love, and you were selected through this rigorous process, and you deserve to continue to tune the noise out, because at the end, it's really only you and yourself, and you have to make yourself happy."