Napoleon Jinnies

Last updated
Napoleon Jinnies
NationalityAmerican
OccupationCheerleader

Napoleon Jinnies is an American cheerleader. In 2019, he and Quinton Peron were the first male National Football League (NFL) cheerleaders to perform during the Super Bowl. [1] [2] He joined the Los Angeles Rams squad in 2018. [3]

Contents

The former Disney dancer and been featured in Abercrombie & Fitch's Fierce cologne campaign. [4] He also featured in the brand's partnership with The Trevor Project. [5]

Personal life

Jinnies is openly gay and a classically trained dancer. [3] [6] [7] He was bullied for his sexual orientation when he was younger. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheerleading</span> Athletic activity based on cheering for a team

Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to entertain the audience, or for competition. Cheerleading routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting. Cheerleading originated in the United States, where it has become a tradition. It is less prevalent in the rest of the world, except via its association with American sports or organized cheerleading contests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Lions</span> National Football League franchise in Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team plays their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle Seahawks</span> National Football League franchise in Seattle, Washington

The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as part of a conference realignment. The club entered the NFL as an expansion team in 1976 in the NFC. From 1977 to 2001, Seattle was assigned to the American Football Conference (AFC) West. They have played their home games at Lumen Field in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood since 2002, having previously played home games in the Kingdome (1976–1999) and Husky Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XXXVI</span> 2002 National Football League championship game

Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2001 season. The underdog Patriots defeated the heavily favored Rams by the score of 20–17. It was New England's first Super Bowl championship, and the franchise's first league championship of any kind. The game was also notable for snapping the AFC East's long streak of not being able to win a Super Bowl championship, as the division's teams had lost 7 Super Bowls between the Miami Dolphins' victory in 1974 and the Patriots' 2002 win. This was the last Super Bowl to feature the St. Louis Rams; after relocating to Los Angeles in 2016, the Rams returned to the NFL's championship game in Super Bowl LIII, in which they were again defeated by the Patriots. The Rams would not win another Super Bowl until Super Bowl LVI, as the Los Angeles Rams, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals.

Matthew Joseph Willig is an American actor and former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Whitworth</span> American football player (born 1981)

Andrew James Whitworth is an American former professional football player who was a tackle for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He spent 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and five with the Los Angeles Rams. Noted for the longevity of his career, he retired as the oldest tackle in NFL history and was the oldest offensive lineman to win a Super Bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Spagnuolo</span> American football coach (born 1959)

Stephen Christopher Spagnuolo is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He rejoined Andy Reid in 2019 after being a defensive assistant with him from 1999 to 2006 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He has coached four top-ten defenses as a defensive coordinator in terms of yardage. He has won four Super Bowls as defensive coordinator, one with the New York Giants and three with the Kansas City Chiefs, making him the only coordinator in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises. Some historic defenses that Spagnuolo has coached throughout his career include the 2007 New York Giants defense and the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs defense.

National Football League Cheerleading or simply NFL Cheerleading, is a group of professional cheerleading organizations in the United States. 24 of the 32 NFL teams include a cheerleading squad in their franchise. In 1954, the Baltimore Colts became the first NFL team to have cheerleaders. They were part of Baltimore's Marching Colts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Rams</span> National Football League franchise in Inglewood, California

The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play their home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which they share with the Los Angeles Chargers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homosexuality in American football</span> LGBTQ history in American Football

There has been only one player who has publicly come out as gay or bisexual while being an active player in the National Football League (NFL): Carl Nassib, who revealed himself as gay on June 21, 2021. He later became the first openly gay player in an NFL playoff game on January 15, 2022. Six former NFL players have come out publicly after they retired. In the 2014 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams drafted Michael Sam in the seventh round, the 249th of 256 players selected, which made him the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL. However, on August 30, St. Louis released Sam as part of a final round of cuts to reduce their roster to the league-mandated 53 players before the start of the regular season. In 2015, he became the first publicly gay player to play in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl LIII</span> 2019 National Football League championship game

Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams, 13–3. The game was played on February 3, 2019, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and was the first Super Bowl played at the stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl LVI</span> 2022 National Football League championship game

Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals, 23–20. The game was played on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the home stadium of the Rams, the second consecutive and second overall Super Bowl with a team playing and winning in its home stadium. Currently, this is the latest date for a Super Bowl during the calendar year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Gay</span> American football player (born 1994)

Matt Gay is an American football placekicker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). Gay played college football at the University of Utah and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Edwards (offensive lineman)</span> American football player (born 1997)

David Edwards is an American football guard for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams, with whom he won Super Bowl LVI. He played college football at Wisconsin.

Quinton Peron is an American cheerleader. In 2019, he and Napoleon Jinnies were the first male National Football League (NFL) cheerleaders to perform during the Super Bowl.

Jesse Hernandez is an American cheerleader. He is considered one of the first male National Football League (NFL) cheerleaders, along with Napoleon Jinnies and Quinton Peron.

Aubrey Pleasant is an American football coach who is the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin and was previously an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean McVay effect</span> Trend in NFL coaching hiring

The Sean McVay effect is a term used to describe a trend beginning in 2018 regarding the hiring practices of National Football League (NFL) teams towards employing young head coaches that specialized in offensive strategy, but would later be expanded to describe the trend of hiring young head coaches in general. The phrase originates from Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, who when hired at 30 years old in 2017, became the youngest NFL head coach in the Super Bowl era (1966–present). McVay rapidly changed the culture of the organization and turned the Rams into the league's highest-scoring offense, resulting in the team becoming perennial title contenders and eventual champions in Super Bowl LVI. In light of McVay's quick success, NFL teams increasingly began to hire relatively younger head coaches.

References

  1. Garcia-Navarro, Lulu (February 3, 2019). "2 Rams Cheerleaders Will Be The 1st Men In NFL Hist". NPR. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  2. Locker, Melissa (2019-02-03). "Meet the first male cheerleaders to ever perform a Super Bowl". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2019-02-12. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  3. 1 2 Wong, Curtis M. (February 11, 2019). "NFL Cheerleader Napoleon Jinnies: 'I Was Bullied For Being Gay'". HuffPost. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  4. "How This Male Cheerleader Went from Getting Bullied to the Super Bowl". www.out.com. 2019-02-12. Archived from the original on 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  5. "Abercrombie Will Donate Up to $100,000 to The Trevor Project for Pride". www.out.com. 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  6. "Quinton Peron Talks LGBTQ Acceptance in Sports and Leading the Cheer in Pride". Metrosource. 2021-06-02. Archived from the original on 2021-06-08. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  7. "Meet Out Gay LA Rams Cheerleader Napoleon Jinnies". www.out.com. 2022-01-17. Archived from the original on 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  8. Buzinski, Jim (2019-02-11). "Rams male cheerleader Napoleon Jinnies opens up about being gay". Outsports. Retrieved 2022-09-30.