For a fourth consecutive Super Bowl, there will be a male cheerleader on the field. And this year, that cheerleader is gay.
Super Bowl LIX will take place February 9 in New Orleans. The match is between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Eagles cheer squad includes one man, James Christian Legette, who also happens to be gay, per Outsports.
Legette has been with the Eagles for four years. In 2021, he celebrated being named to the Eagles's cheer squad.
"After all of my years of dance and performance, I’m ecstatic to announce that my dream of performing is becoming a reality. I can happily say that I am a Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader for the 2021-2022 season!" he wrote on Instagram at the time. "I can not express how excited I am to be performing for not only an amazing organization but alongside so many outstanding individuals."
Legette is an alumnus of Temple University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Special Education and now works as a special education teacher and youth mentor in addition to being a cheerleader.
He coaches gymnastics, cheerleading, dance, basketball, and soccer, works in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program, and participates in local community theater shows.
On the Eagles cheerleading site, he said that his favorite memory as an Eagles cheerleader was when teh team performed at the Special Olympics, "where I get to combine my professional and cheerleading experiences," he said. "Working with kids has always been my inspiration; their energy and potential drive me to make a positive impact in their lives every day."
Legette celebrated the Eagles making this year's Super Bowl with a post on Instagram showing him on his knees throwing confetti that was covering the field into the air.
"I'll catch y'all at the Super Bowl! @cheifs won't know what hit 'em," he wrote
This is the fourth year in a row that at least one Super Bowl team has had a male cheerleader, with the Eagles competing this year and last. The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams also boasted male cheerleaders.
