The Minnesota Vikings announced their new cheer squad for the 2025-2026 season in an Instagram clip captioned: “The next generation of cheer has arrived!” The video shows Louie Conn, one of two male cheerleaders, landing a backflip before joining the rest of the team in a choreographed dance. Conn and Blaize Shiek join 33 female cheerleaders on the roster.
Social conservatives instantly melted down, with some fans vowing to boycott the team over the addition of two males to the squad.
“Why does the @nfl feel the need to cater to a demographic that doesn’t match their fan base?” griped one Instagram user, tagging the league’s official account.
“I’m not a Viking fan no more,” huffed another, showing off his grammatical skills.
One of the loudest critics was Christian conservative Kevin Sorbo, the washed-up ’90s Hercules star, who shared a video on X of Shiek and a female cheerleader dancing in front of a mirror. “I’ve been a Vikings fan all my life… sigh. I need a new team now,” he lamented.
Sorbo’s post has racked up more than 49 million views on X.
Responding to Sorbo, one X user wrote: “You’ve never been a Vikings fan. Out of all the tragedies that the team has faced, if you’re turning your back because of one cheerleader, you were never a fan in the first place.”
Right-wing InfoWars presenter Owen Shroyer also whined about the Vikings’ new additions. “Imagine you buy front row season football tickets and when you sit down there’s some man girating (sic) right in front of you,” he posted on X.
Some users called for boycotting the Vikings — or the NFL altogether — to “punish” the league for allowing male cheerleaders. Others compared it to the conservative outrage of 2018, when Black players knelt during the national anthem to protest racism and police brutality. At the time, President Donald Trump claimed the protests were tanking NFL ratings because conservatives were tuning out in anger.
The Los Angeles Rams were the first NFL team to add male cheerleaders in 2018. By last season, seven teams had men on their squads, a number expected to jump to 12 this year — including several storied, Super Bowl-winning franchises such as the Baltimore Ravens, the New Orleans Saints, the Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers, the New England Patriots, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Carolina Panthers made history in 2022 with Justine Lindsay, the NFL’s first out transgender cheerleader, who remains on the squad this season.
Responding to the controversy, the Vikings told Newsweek that “approximately one-third of NFL teams have male cheerleaders” in 2025.
“Every member of the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders program has an impressive dance background and went through the same rigorous audition process,” the team said in a statement. “Individuals were selected because of their talent, passion for dance, and dedication to elevating the game-day experience.”
In a statement to NBC News, the team noted this isn’t the first Vikings squad with male members — and that no season-ticket holders have asked for refunds.
“We support all our cheerleaders and are proud of the role they play as ambassadors of the organization,” the team wrote.
Several online commenters pointed out the irony of boycotting football over male cheerleaders, given that cheerleading began as an all-male sport and remained male-dominated until after World War II, according to USA Cheer, the governing body for sport cheering.
Others noted that male cheerleaders are common in college squads. A UCLA Center study found that about half of all collegiate cheerleading teams include men.
OutSports noted that at least nine famous men — including Republican heavyweights like former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and George W. Bush, along with ex-Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott — were once cheerleaders. Social conservatives never objected to their pom-pom days, underscoring how selective today’s outrage really is.
Two-time Super Bowl champ Torrey Smith (Ravens, Eagles) defended the Vikings’ move in a post on X, even sharing a personal story.
“I started a youth football program in West Baltimore a few months ago,” Smith wrote. “We added cheer, and I was asked if I would have a problem with a boy cheering. If he wants to cheer, let him cheer.”
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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was targeted by online trolls after posting photos of himself on social media with his fingernails painted blue.
The photos, posted to Williams' Instagram account, also show him at a formal event wearing a black suit and T-shirt, with what appears to be a white flower tucked in his hair.
Most of the comments on Instagram were positive -- with followers writing things like "GQ," a reference to the men's fashion magazine, "NAUGHHHHHHTY," or simply dropping two flame emojis.
Nico Young made history on July 31 by winning the 10,000-meter final at the USATF Outdoor Championships, becoming the first out gay man to claim a U.S. track and field title.
The 23-year-old from Camarillo, California, secured his historic win with a time of 29:02.12, edging Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher after closing the final mile in 3:57.05 and his last lap in a blistering 56.54 seconds.
A former standout at Northern Arizona University, Young won both the 5,000- and 3,000-meter races at the 2024 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships. He also qualified for the Paris Olympics by placing third in the 10,000 meters at last year’s U.S. trials, eventually finishing 12th at the Games with a time of 26:58.11, according to Forbes.
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