CNN reports that this season, the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints will feature male cheerleaders alongside female cheerleaders for the first time. They will be performing the same moves as the women on the field, and it’s a promising step toward inclusiveness. Napoleon Jinnies and Quinton Peron will join the Rams squad and Jesse Hernandez will be part of the Saints Saintsations.
The new male cheerleaders expressed their excitement on Twitter. “This week has been a whirlwind!,” Peron wrote. “But it’s still so surreal to me that I am one of the First Male cheerleaders to dance for a pro team.”
Still can’t belive I’m one of the first males in history to be a pro NFL cheerleader! Everyone’s support and love has been insane! ? thank you and GO RAMS! @RamsNFL @LARamsCheer #LARams pic.twitter.com/srpkYiVmEI
— Napoleon Jinnies (@NapoleonJinnies) March 27, 2018
Hernandez was seen in a video talking about how Jinnies and Peron were his inspiration to try out for the squad. “My mom had sent me a link about the L.A. Rams male cheerleaders that had just made the team a couple weeks ago, and she told me it was my time to shine,” he said. “Everyone has been awesome and, [with] open arms, came and expressed their love to me.”
Other NFL teams like the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts have stuntmen on their squads, but the three men will be the first male dancers. They will make their NFL debut this Thursday, August 9, when the NFL preseason gets underway. Now the next important question, what will they be wearing?