NFL’s first trans cheerleader Justine Lindsay returning next season

Trans NFL cheerleader Justine Lindsay will be returning next season. 

Lindsay made history in June 2022 when she by became the NFL’s first out trans cheerleader, after joining the Carolina Panthers. And, according to reports, she will be back on the touchline with the team’s TopCats squad this season. 

Calling her first appearance a “dream come true”, Lindsay said: “This is a moment I will never forget and I cannot wait to show you all what this girl has to bring.”

TopCats director Chandalae Lanouette said Lindsay fitted the goal of creating “a team of individuals [who] are absolute fire on the field but are incredible human beings in the locker-room”. 

The NFL is not exactly known for its LGBTQ+ inclusivity.

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden resigned in 2021 after a homophobic email scandal, and, as recently as May, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers voiced his opposition to trans inclusion in sport, claiming transgender women were “anti-woman”. He moved to the Pittsburgh Steelers the following month.

Rodgers’ comments follow president Donald Trump signing an executive order aimed at banning trans women and girls from taking part in female sports teams. 

The directive proclaimed: “In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports. This is demeaning, unfair and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”

Carl Nassib is the only NFL star to have publicly come out as gay and play in games. He was released by the Raiders in 2021 and announced his retirement the following year. Michael Sam was the first out gay man to be drafted into the NFL when he joined St Louis Rams in 2014 but he never took to the field.

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• Dec 31 2024

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