Justine Lindsay is the NFL"s first transgender cheerleader, she joined the Carolina Panthers last year, and now she is in her second season in the NFL.
Her cheerleading career is the start of a new chapter on the NFL cheer, one where "it’s okay to be your most authentic self," as Lindsay says.
#Panthers Justine Lindsay the first transgender cheerleader in #NFL history says she will fight till her DEATH against the North Carolina law that bans biological men from participating in women's sports.
"It saddens me to see it."
Lindsay also compared being a cheerleader to… pic.twitter.com/0m5FdYr9BY
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 22, 2023
She announced her journey on an IG post in March 2022, posted when she got the call from TopCats director Chandalae Lanouette she blacked out.
In her podcast she started after her journey, she shared her experience and also spoke at the GLAAD event about transgender inclusion in professional sports.
Since then, Lindsay has played an unforgettable role in the NFL to influence the younger generation on cheerleading, he said to Elle Magazine.
"I want to change the narrative for my trans sisters and brothers, just to [let them] know that if you have a goal, go for it,"
She also added,
"Turn that dream into a reality. Be an NFL cheerleader, or a doctor, or a nurse, or whatever you set your mind to."
Lindsay believes her career as a cheerleader in the NFL will bring bigger change and hopes it opens the portal to other members of the trans community.
She spoke to the Elle magazine and mentioned,
"Everything that I"m going through now, it"s bigger than me,"
"I"m setting things up for the younger generation, No one is going to stop this show."
After the Fairness in Women"s Sports Act in April was introduced, Lindsay apologetically said that the act had deterred her from continuing her fight.
She told Elle,
"I will fight this until I can"t fight anymore. It saddens me to see it."
