The Minnesota Vikings’ newest cheerleaders aren’t losing any sleep over the MAGA meltdown that followed their debut.
Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn were announced as part of the 2025 Vikings cheer squad earlier this month, instantly drawing gripes from some fans online—including vows to ditch the team altogether. Former NFL star Antonio Brown even shared a video of the cheer squad reveal, featuring Shiek. In the X post, Brown used a vile homophobic slur.
Shiek and Conn appeared in the cheer lineup for the NFL preseason game between the New England Patriots and the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on August 16, having first walked out against the Houston Texans earlier this month.
Afterwards, Shiek appeared to mock the outrage directly, posting a photo of himself and Conn in uniform on Instagram with the caption, “Wait…did someone say our name?”
The post came after a wave of hand-wringing over the pair’s inclusion. One X user fumed that “this isn’t football anymore,” while another claimed they’d never buy tickets again. The Vikings, however, have stood firm.
“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 team said in a statement.
The franchise stressed that “in 2025, approximately one-third of NFL teams have male cheerleaders,” and emphasized that Shiek and Conn were selected through the same competitive audition process as their teammates.
“We support all our cheerleaders and are proud of the role they play as ambassadors of the organization.”
The Los Angeles Rams were the first NFL team to bring male dancers onto the field in 2018. Conn, for his part, was previously a member of the Iowa State Cyclones dance team, according to Fox News.
In addition to the Rams and Vikings, the Patriots, the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Baltimore Ravens will all feature male cheerleaders in their squads this season.
And while social media warriors have threatened to torch season tickets, the Vikings told NBC News that nobody has actually followed through.
