Vikings Under Fire Over Male Cheerleaders

The Minnesota Vikings have come under fire for their new male cheerleaders, with some social media users saying they will no longer support the NFL team.

"While many fans may be seeing male cheerleaders for the first time at Vikings games, male cheerleaders have been part of previous Vikings teams and have long been associated with collegiate and professional cheerleading," the Minnesota Vikings said in a statement shared with Newsweek responding to the backlash.

The NFL has frequently become the focal point of culture wars online over the past few years, with some criticizing it for being too "woke." Social media discourse has been prompted following the displaying of pride flags, the performance of the hymn, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which is often referred to as the Black national anthem, and performances at the Super Bowl.

The Minnesota Vikings announced their new cheerleaders in a clip shared to Instagram, captioned: "The next generation of cheer has arrived!" The video features a young male cheerleader in the middle as the group dances.

Another male cheerleader, Blaize Shiek, took to Instagram to share that he had joined the squad.

"Rookie Year Excited and honored to share that I am officially a 2025-26 Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader! I am so grateful for this journey, the support, and the opportunity to make a little history along the way. I hope to represent and inspire what's possible when you stay true to who you are. MVC Blaize," Shiek wrote in the post.

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The male cheerleaders have quickly prompted backlash online from MAGA and conservatives.

The account @tradwifemom wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, viewed 12.5 million times: "This is an official Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader this year. I'm so done with this state JFC."

The actor Kevin Sorbo wrote in a post on X viewed 29 million times: "I've been a Vikings fan all my life... sigh. I need a new team now."

The backlash has not been universal, with many taking to social media to share messages of support for the cheerleaders and to criticize the negative response.

The reporter Billy Binion wrote in a post on X viewed over 140,000 times: "I cannot for the life of me understand getting mad at stuff like this. This guy isn't competing in women's sports. He's a man who enjoys dancing & is skilled at it. Probably worked very hard to get there. Getting angry at that is such loser behavior."

The Minnesota Vikings may not be the only team to be recruiting male cheerleaders to their squad this season.

MLFootball, an account on X which shares news about football, shared a post on X which reads in part, "12 #NFL TEAMS WILL REPORTEDLY HAVE MALE CHEERLEADERS ON THEIR CHEERLEADING SQUAD THIS SEASON" and lists the teams as the Vikings, Ravens, Rams, Saints, Eagles, 49ers, Patriots, Titans, Colts, Chiefs, Buccaneers and Panthers.

This list has not been confirmed, but could signal a new era for the face of cheerleading in the NFL.