{"id":3396,"date":"2018-04-13T16:28:39","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T20:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=3396"},"modified":"2018-04-13T16:28:39","modified_gmt":"2018-04-13T20:28:39","slug":"la-rams-male-cheerleaders-nfl-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2018\/04\/la-rams-male-cheerleaders-nfl-first.html","title":{"rendered":"Are the LA Rams’ Male Cheerleaders an NFL First?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2000px-Los_Angeles_Rams_wordmark.svg\"<\/a>The NLF is once again back in the spotlight. This time, however, it is not the players who are in the spotlight. It is the cheerleaders.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Rams have garnered national attention after adding two men to their cheerleading squad. Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies are both classically trained dancers and have spent their entire lives on stage. Peron said that he was inspired to try out for the squad after watching the Laker Girls perform at an LA Lakers game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018Why not me? Why can\u2019t I do this?\u2019\u201d said Peron. \u201cSo I called my friend and I asked her when auditions were for the Rams and she told me Sunday and I showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jinnies described the audition as a lengthy and grueling process. \u201c[The audition] was about three weeks long and we had a bunch of rehearsals in between and an extensive interview process, but it was really humbling and amazing to be invited every time you came back. High emotions, but it was worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two men were among the lucky finalists chosen for the 40 person squad. For Peron, making the squad is a way for him to make a point. \u201cI want to prove that boys can dance, too,\u201d Peron said. \u201cAfter college we\u2019re not given a choice or a chance to do anything after. We\u2019re, like, just told to get a nine to five job and that\u2019s it. But that doesn\u2019t work. I am an artist, I am a creative person.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rams are claiming that the addition of Jinnies and Peron to their cheer squad is making history, but other teams disagree. Former Atlanta Falcons cheer squad member Billy Quercia came forward to point out that male cheerleaders are not actually anything new. The Falcons cheer squad was composed of 12 men and 12 women during the 1987 and 1988 seasons. The men were true cheerleaders as well. They did the dance routines with the women instead of being relegated to throws only. Similarly, the Baltimore Ravens had male cheerleaders who helped with stunts, and the Tennessee Titans had male yell leaders.<\/p>\n

Still, Jinnies and Peron have been getting a great deal of media coverage recently, and Quercia is delighted to see more male cheerleaders. \u00a0\u201cI think it\u2019s fabulous that that\u2019s happening because we\u2019re all one people and I think that\u2019s awesome,\u201d Quercia said. \u201cThey have it going on. They know what they\u2019re doing. I\u2019ve seen them: they\u2019re very, very good and very professional. And they deserve to be where they\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NFL regular season starts on September 6th, and the preseason will begin on August 2nd<\/sup> with the Chicago Bears facing off against the Baltimore Ravens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NLF is once again back in the spotlight. This time, however, it is not the players who are in the spotlight. It is the cheerleaders. The Los Angeles Rams have garnered national attention after adding two men to their cheerleading squad. Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies are both classically trained dancers and have spent…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":616,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-3396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiring-celebrities","tag-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nAre the LA Rams' Male Cheerleaders an NFL First?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The NLF is once again back in the spotlight. This time, however, it is not the players who are in the spotlight. It is the cheerleaders.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2018\/04\/la-rams-male-cheerleaders-nfl-first.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are the LA Rams' Male Cheerleaders an NFL First?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The NLF is once again back in the spotlight. This time, however, it is not the players who are in the spotlight. It is the cheerleaders.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2018\/04\/la-rams-male-cheerleaders-nfl-first.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Inspiration Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-13T20:28:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/files\/2018\/04\/2000px-Los_Angeles_Rams_wordmark.svg_.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephanie Hertzenberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are the LA Rams' Male Cheerleaders an NFL First?","description":"The NLF is once again back in the spotlight. This time, however, it is not the players who are in the spotlight. 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