Driss Dallahi and Steven Sonntag just became the newest male cheerleaders in the NFL and made it on to the New England Patriots cheerleading squad after auditioning this month.
Dallahi and Sonntag were inspired to audition by Quinton Peron and Napolean Jinnies, who became the first male cheerleaders to appear in a Super Bowl earlier this year, for the L.A. Rams. The New Orleans Saints also have male cheerleaders.
Said Dallahi to NBC Boston: “Walking (into tryouts), I knew people were going to look at me — one, because I am over 6 feet tall, and two, because I am a male.”
Dallahi and Sonntag met at auditions, said Sonntag: “We didn’t really know the criteria for male cheerleaders auditioning for the New England Patriots, so we kind of created that together in texting back and forth. … Two genders on the squad is a big step for any team in the NFL, because that’s not what people are used to seeing sidelines, so I encourage it to progress even more across the NFL board.”
Dallahi’s dance reel:
