NFL Cheerleading Team Welcomes First Openly-Trans Member
CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 09: A general view of the field during the national anthem before the game between the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys at Bank of America Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
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The Carolina Panthers are officially the first NFL team to employ an openly transgender female cheerleader.
Justine Simone Lindsay, 29, announced she was trans and that she had made the Panthers' Topcats cheerleading squad in the same Instagram post back in March.
"Cats Out the Bag you are looking at the newest member of the Carolina Panthers TopCats Cheerleader’s @topcats as the first Transgender female," Lindsay wrote. "I would like to thank the beautiful and talented dancers who supported me along the way alumni TopCats family and friends for your love and support."
Lindsay had noted on her application but had not publicly revealed to anyone that she was transgender, except for family.
Topcats director Chandalae Lanouette told Buzzfeed News that Lindsay's gender did not factor into her bid to make the team at all.
“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 said.
NFL cheerleading and dance teams have recently been allowing men to join, but it is believed that Lindsay is the first openly trans person to earn a spot.
