{"id":636,"date":"2025-08-23T06:52:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T06:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/?p=636"},"modified":"2025-08-23T07:09:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T07:09:44","slug":"minnesota-vikings-back-male-cheerleaders-despite-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/636\/minnesota-vikings-back-male-cheerleaders-despite-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Vikings Back Male Cheerleaders Despite Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Vikings-cheer-team.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Vikings-cheer-team-1024x577.webp\" alt=\"Minnesota Vikings cheer team\" class=\"wp-image-638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Vikings-cheer-team-1024x577.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Vikings-cheer-team-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Vikings-cheer-team-768x433.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Vikings-cheer-team-1536x865.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Vikings-cheer-team.webp 1878w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, (max-width: 1200px) 75vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Minnesota Vikings\u2019 2025 cheerleading squad includes two men, Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn. They made the team through the same audition process as everyone else. Their addition, however, sparked backlash from some fans and public figures, with criticism ranging from complaints about \u201ctradition\u201d to outright homophobic remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Team\u2019s Response<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Vikings stood behind their decision. In a statement, the organization pointed out that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Male cheerleaders have been part of both NFL and college squads for years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>About a third of NFL teams currently include male cheerleaders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Selections are based on skill and performance, not gender.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How the Cheerleaders Handled It<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DNa2TEttF-W\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\">    <picture>\r\n                <img src=\"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blaize-Shiek-and-Louie-Conn-Vikings-cheerleaders.jpg\"\r\n             srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blaize-Shiek-and-Louie-Conn-Vikings-cheerleaders.jpg 573w, https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blaize-Shiek-and-Louie-Conn-Vikings-cheerleaders-224x300.jpg 224w\"             sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, (max-width: 1200px) 75vw, 1200px\"\r\n             width=\"573\"\r\n             height=\"769\"\r\n             alt=\"Blaize-Shiek-and-Louie-Conn-Vikings-cheerleaders\"\r\n             loading=\"lazy\"             decoding=\"async\"\r\n             class=\"wp-image-637\" >\r\n    <\/picture>\r\n    <\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Instagram Post<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Shiek and Conn responded with humor, posting a photo in uniform captioned: <em>\u201cWait\u2026 did someone say our name?\u201d<\/em> The post was widely praised, and many fans defended them, noting their talent on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why It Matters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn\u2019t the first time male cheerleaders have faced pushback, but it highlights an ongoing cultural debate about gender roles. Supporters argue that cheerleading should be judged on performance, not outdated expectations of who \u201cbelongs\u201d on the sidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Vikings\u2019 decision sends a clear message: talent comes first. And by standing firm, they\u2019re helping broaden representation in professional sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ever pushed back against stereotypes or stood tall through criticism? Share your experience on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\">Me We Too<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Minnesota Vikings\u2019 2025 cheerleading squad includes two men, Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn. They made the team through the same audition process as everyone else. Their addition, however, sparked backlash from some fans and public figures, with criticism ranging &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/636\/minnesota-vikings-back-male-cheerleaders-despite-backlash\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[482,28],"tags":[700,694,701,525,703,698,696,695,693,336,697,483,702,699,692],"class_list":["post-636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-the-news","category-sports","tag-backlash","tag-blaize-shiek","tag-cheerleading","tag-equality","tag-football-culture","tag-gender-roles","tag-homophobic","tag-louie-conn","tag-male-cheerleaders","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-nfl","tag-representation-in-sports","tag-sports-inclusivity","tag-vikings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":643,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions\/643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mewetoo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}