--- description: The Los Angeles Rams feature two male cheerleaders on their squad — a big change for Super Bowl cheer appearances. title: Here's Why You're Seeing Male Cheerleaders at the Super Bowl image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's Why You're Seeing Male Cheerleaders at the Super Bowl Tonight  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 1:05 AM CUTPublished: Feb 3, 2019 11:45 AM CUT  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 1:05 AM CUTPublished: Feb 3, 2019 11:45 AM CUT Don’t call them “stunt men:” Napoleon Jinnies and Quinton Peron are official [Los Angeles Rams](http://time.com/5508298/super-bowl-rams-patriots/ "undefined") cheerleaders, part of a 40-person cheer squad helping pump up their team’s spirits at [Super Bowl 53](http://time.com/5501622/maroon-5-travis-scott-super-bowl-53/ "undefined") in Atlanta, Georgia tonight. They inspired the Rams inspired the male cheerleader meme, and this marks the first appearance of officially-designated male cheerleaders in the [Super Bowl’s history](http://time.com/5510210/simpsons-super-bowl-predictions/ "undefined"). (Previously, men who joined their female counterparts in [Super Bowl](http://time.com/5515400/best-super-bowl-commercials-2019/ "undefined") cheer squads were described as the “male stunt team.”) Jinnies and Peron tried out for the team just like any other cheerleader nearly a year ago — and they got the jobs. “If you have the talent and skill set, you shouldn’t be discriminated on the basis of sex,” Molly Higgins, team vice president of community affairs and engagement, [told _USA Today_](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/super-bowl/2019/01/31/super-bowl-2019-rams-male-cheerleaders-history/2730673002/ "undefined"). “My hope is that this is going to become the new normal.” Jinnies agreed: “Especially the world of entertainment is in a place of being open, and if you can do the job, why not,” [he told _CBS News_](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/super-bowl-2019-meet-the-los-angeles-rams-male-cheerleaders-making-history/ "undefined"). Both Jinnies and Peron are trained as dancers, according to their social media, and while they leave the crop-top-wearing to their female teammates, they perform much of the same choreography. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5518564/male-cheerleaders-super-bowl/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5518564/male-cheerleaders-super-bowl/"},"headline":"Here's Why You're Seeing Male Cheerleaders at the Super Bowl Tonight","datePublished":"2019-02-03T11:45:08.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T01:05:33.000Z","description":"“My hope is that this is going to become the new normal.”","url":"https://time.com/5518564/male-cheerleaders-super-bowl/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Super Bowl 2019"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5518564/male-cheerleaders-super-bowl/","name":"Here's Why You're Seeing Male Cheerleaders at the Super Bowl Tonight"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"These Are the Best Super Bowl 2019 Commercials","description":"The main show at the 2019 Super Bowl will be on the field, with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots facing off against Jared Goff and his Los Angeles Rams","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IpM4qDrT/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-02-01T18:35:19.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IpM4qDrT.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5518564/male-cheerleaders-super-bowl/","duration":"PT3M56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5518564/male-cheerleaders-super-bowl/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```