The Washington Football Team, which was dubbed the “Chanticleers,” has had its name changed to the “Redskins.” Not only has the team’s name been altered following thousands of dissatisfied fans, but now it has gotten rid of its cheerleaders. In place of a squad of female cheerleaders shouting out the praise for NFL players on the field, the Washington Football Team has chosen to go with a more “inclusive” gender-neutral dance team that includes males.
The Washington Football Team has been working hard to become more “woke” in recent years. After dropping its offensive “Redskins” name, which was derived from a racial epithet used to insult Native Americans, the Washington Football Team changed its official moniker while the team worked toward finding a new name in the near future.
The Washington Football Team, on the other hand, isn’t simply interested in adopting a new moniker in 2022; they plan to replace their popular cheerleading squad with a group of gender-neutral dancers after. Despite employing cheerleaders since 1962, the Washington Football Team has dismissed all existing cheerleaders from their current jobs and encouraged them to audition for one of the team’s thirty-six open dance spots if they wish to continue working for the NFL organization.
Nonetheless, lots of people are furious. Thousands of cheerleading fans signed an online petition demanding that the football team reinstate its cheerleaders and return to how things were prior to the club attempting to go all woke, as a result of which they received more than 34,000 signatures.
Petra Pope will lead the new dance team. Pope formerly performed as a Laker Girl for almost thirty years and has worked at NBA Entertainment for 33 years. She wants to bring her expertise with her when she switches sports to help celebrate the NFL players competing in games, according to Sports Illustrated.
Pope is delighted to be in charge of the gender-neutral dance club for the Washington Football Team.
“Fans can expect an experience like none other – a gender-neutral and diverse squad of athletes and dancers whose choreography, costumes, props, tricks, and stunts will rival the best entertainment across genres and really inspire and ‘wow’ our fans,” stated Pope to Washington Football Team. “With that comes inclusivity, diversity, and in my mind, as an entertainer, athleticism. My desire is to create a team that is all of that — inclusive, diverse, coed, athletic — to set the gold standard in the NFL. We’re looking for that super athlete that can dance, perform tricks and stunts and manipulate whatever props that will create a really great show.”
It seems that the NFL cheerleaders’ era is coming to an end, according to many people. Will other football clubs follow in the footsteps of the Washington Football Team and get rid of their cheerleaders in order to be more “woke”? Only time will tell if this happens, but it appears that the entire NFL organization may be attempting to distance themselves from their own fan base as they become more “woke.”
