“I was so scared “-NFL’s first transgender discloses her biggest fear about revealing her sexuality
Follow Us
The National Football League has come a long way in terms of accepting individuals with different sexual orientations, there was a time when players or personnel belonging to the LGBTQ community were frowned upon and these members had to live in fear of not letting any of their fellow teammates or co-workers find their secret out. However, now it is a different time. The league is encouraging players to be themselves and their sexual orientations do not matter, another progressive step in the right direction is the hiring of Justine Lindsay, the first open transgender cheerleader in the NFL.
The Carolina Panthers hired her following which she posted on her Instagram revealing her sexuality as well. “Cats out of the bag, you are looking at the newest member of the Carolina Panthers Topcats Cheerleaders as the first transgender female,” she posted. She was also grateful for those who supported her and stood with her, “I would like to thank the beautiful and talented dancers who supported me along the way, alumni, TopCats family, and friends for your love and support. I would not have gotten to this moment in my life if it wasn’t for your support,” Lindsay pens a heartfelt message.
Justine Lindsay will also be the face of the Carolina Panthers at community events and fundraisers:
The league does not have a practice of having a track record for its cheerleaders, however, Lindsay is the first cheerleader to be vocal about her sexual orientation. She is extremely proud to hold this honor, “I think more people need to see this. it’s not because I want recognition. It’s to shed light on what’s going on in this world.”
She initially had second thoughts about revealing her sexuality, it is a secret that not even the closest of her friends knew. “I was so scared, there are just some things you can’t post. I just felt like whatever reaction I got from everyone, it does not matter, and then my phone started blowing up.” She decided to go through with it anyway and was glad that she did so as there were a lot of supportive messages that came her way.
Lindsay is in a unique position as she can now give other youngsters who are confused or dealing with issues relating to their own sexuality a dream to look forward to and hope that they will get opportunities as well.
“I’m happy because I was able to break down that door and tell people, “Hey, we are not just sexual beings, we are actual human beings who want to better ourselves,” Lindsay adds. Lindsay also holds another record in her name now as she is one amongst a handful of professional cheerleaders who are black, and a rarity among them as well as only a few of them wearing their hair naturally.
She felt more inspired and relieved when her coach said that she can keep her bald head as she thinks that she can ‘inspire other girls who may be insecure about rocking their bald look.’
The TopCats director was frank that she did not hire Lindsay because of her sexuality but she was hired given her talent, she also confessed that on her application, Lindsay had specified that she was transgender.
This is indeed a remarkable day for the NFL and inclusivity across the league, we hope that this is just a starting point and that it will get better from this point onwards.
Stay Updated!
Sumedh Joshi
(2275 Articles Published)