Meet the 3 Out Gay New England Patriots Cheerleaders in the Playoffs
| 01/15/22
These talented dancers are bringing some much-needed representation to the the NFL's Wildcard Weekend!
It's Wildcard Weekend in the NFL, with plenty of gridiron action taking place on the field through Monday. And there will be plenty of LGBTQ+ representation on the sidelines as well when the New England Patriots play the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night.
It will be a historic game for the Patriots as the team will start a rookie quarterback in a playoff game for the first time in team history, but Mac Jones will not be the only person making history in what has already been a season of firsts for the league.
The NFL declared itself officially gay this year shortly after Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib came out via an Instagram post during Pride Month. Nassib made history as the league's first out, gay active player and he is expected to become the first out player to take the field in an NFL playoff game when his Las Vegas Raiders play the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday. In the evening game, the cheerleading squad of the New England Patriots looks to field the biggest ever Team LGBTQ+ for their game. In fact, the Pats have three out gay cheerleaders on their squad!
Want to meet this spirited trio? Then keep scrolling because we have curated some of our favorite pics below.
Photos by @stevensonntag, @drissj.dallahi, & @parkerrwest
The New England Patriots welcomed two out cheerleaders, Driss Dallahi (l) and Steven Sonntag (c), to their squad in 2019. And this year, they welcomed a third, rookie Parker West (r). All three are talented dancers and athletes!
Photos by Mark Johnson, New England Patriots
Steven Sonntag is a school administrator from Colchester, Vermont. This is the third year for Sonntag as a member of the Patriots cheer squad.
Photo by @stevensonntag
Photo by @stevensonntag
His Patriots bio says his greatest fitness achievement was hiking the three tallest mountains in his home state.
Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Driss Dallahi is an HR operations generalist from Londonderry, New Hampshire. He's a trained aerialist meaning he can dance "on the ground and in the air."
Photo by @drissj.dallahi
Photo by @drissj.dallahi
He's also hiked 20 miles of the Great Wall of China.
Photo by Billy Weiss/Getty Images
Sonntag told WTBS Boston he first met Dallahi at their tryouts in 2019. It was the first time men had tried out for the team.
"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," Sonntag said at the time, adding the pair coordinated colors and clothing.
Photo by @drissj.dallahi
Parker West is the newbie man on the squad. The brand and culture coordinator from Byfield, Massachusetts says his greatest fitness achievement is "skiing all over the world."
Photos by @parkerrwest
Photos by @parkerrwest
And West has high hopes for his future.
"In five years, I see myself starring in a reality TV show and being an influencer and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and mental health awareness," he said.
Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Photos by @stevensonntag, @drissj.dallahi, & @parkerrwest
