Latest news with #BlaizeShiek
Newsweek
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Vikings Under Fire Over Male Cheerleaders
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. 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. Newsweek has reached out to the Vikings outside of regular working hours via email for comment. Why It Matters 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. Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders are seen before the game against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 27, 2023. Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders are seen before the game against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 27, To Know 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. 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." What People Are Saying @Bubblebathgirl wrote in a post on X viewed over 600,000 times: "Minnesota Vikings has a man as their new lead cheerleader. As if you needed another reason to avoid the NFL and Minnesota." @CitizenFreePress on X in a post viewed over 600,0000 times: "MINNESOTA VIKINGS NOW HAVE TWO MALE CHEERLEADERS. No one asked for this. No one wanted this." @shelbytweten wrote on X: "The fact people are mad about a male cheerleader for the Vikings when cheerleading literally originated in Minnesota as a men's activity in 1898 is comedy." @PaulleyTicks wrote on X: "Do all these MAGAt neanderthals, that are going into full-on conniptions over the Minnesota Vikings introducing TWO male cheerleaders, even realize that college football has had male cheerleaders since the beginning of cheer-leading?" What's Next 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.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Minnesota Vikings just hired two male cheerleaders and MAGA is melting down
If they're not crashing out over the latest celeb they think is trans or the fact that their votes actually have consequences, MAGA is spiraling over their favorite sport being infiltrated by… wait for it…male cheerleaders. The Minnesota Vikings have announced that two male cheerleaders will be joining their ranks, and when videos of the cheerleaders performing hit social media, conservatives got angry. Dancers Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn are making their debut at Saturday's game and preseason home opener, which has fans threatening to cancel their season passes and InfoWars host Owen Shroyer making derogatory comments, complete with a misspelled word. 'Imagine you buy front row season football tickets and when you sit down there's some man girating [sic] right in front of you,' he wrote on X. @gator_gum had the perfect response, pointing out the hypocrisy of loving such a homoerotic sport but being applied by male cheerleaders, writing, 'Yes, he's blocking your view of the husky man in tights putting his hands between the legs of the other man in tights. Do you know they shower together after the games too? But that dancing guy! Draw the line!' Other right-wing social media users took to X to voice their displeasure at having men join an NFL cheerleading team, with one person posting, 'The Minnesota Vikings HIRED a MALE as their LEAD CHEERLEADER for the 2025-26 NFL football season. This is just disgusting…' Another person reposted the video announcement and wrote, 'I just threw up in my mouth." But former NFL star Antonio Brown took things a step further by reposting a video of Shiek in his new Vikings cheerleader uniform with the caption that used a homophobic slur. MAGA might be up in arms about these particular male cheerleaders, but they are far from the first. In fact, according to Outsports, last season there were 'seven teams had a total of 18 men on their cheer squads,' a trend that was started in 2018 by the Los Angeles Rams. And in 2023, two out gay men became the cheer captains for the Rams' cheerleading squad. Another social media user pointed out that while the sport is dominated by women today, the first cheerleaders were men, a fact backed up USA Cheer, which makes the whole rage debate even more ridiculous. Instead of being focused on the sport they supposedly care so much about, they are worried about who is cheering on the sidelines, in the ultimate 'No homo!' This article originally appeared on Pride: The Minnesota Vikings just hired two male cheerleaders and MAGA is melting down RELATED Why Donald Trump's suits are a sign that he's separating himself from his MAGA base How to survive Thanksgiving with Trump voters without vomiting or getting arrested Why MAGA supporter Yulissa was removed from 'Love Island' & more controversial exits
