First openly trans NFL cheerleader to make her debut in 2022 season

The first openly transgender cheerleader of the National Football League (NFL) will make her debut in the 2022 season starting in September.

Justine Lindsay, a 29-year-old Black trans woman, will cheer for the Carolina Panthers “TopCats”, becoming the first openly trans cheerleader of the NFL, BuzzFeed News first reported.

While there is not an official record for NFL cheerleaders hired throughout the league’s history, Lindsay appears to be the first openly transgender person.

Lindsay announced her hiring in an Instagram post from March, thanking the TopCats team, other dancers who supported her, and their director Chandalae Lanouette: “This is a moment I will never forget and I cannot wait to show you all what this girl has to bring. Thank you [Topcats] a dream come true.”

In her first interview since joining the team, Lindsay spoke to BuzzFeed about anxiety she felt when posting on social media about her historic hire. “I was so scared,” she said. “There’s just some things you can’t post.”

Lindsay’s announcement has gone viral since then, with fans commenting messages of support and congratulations to the new cheerleader.

But, Lindsay has had to deal with transphobia, harassment she addressed in a recent Instagram post: “Thank you to all my haters who think I’m bringing the organization down, clearly I don’t,” wrote Lindsay on Monday.

She continued: “The carolina panthers Organization is an excellent one, one that supports all people white, black, yellow trans, straight etc. at the end of the day myself and the other 29 members [Topcats] made the squad fair and square.”

Lanouette and the Panthers also emphasized that Lindsay made the team due to her talent as a dancer.

“My goal is to create a team of individuals that