This year, the Super Bowl saw its first male cheerleaders. The Los Angeles Rams’ Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies are two of three men who made history last year as the first male cheerleaders in the NFL.

Peron and Jinnies already made history at the start of this season when they, along with Jesse Hernandez of the New Orleans Saints, became the first male cheerleaders in league history.

The Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens have had stuntmen in the past, but they were never alongside their female teammates during the season, until now.

“Personally I don’t really see it as a big deal for the Rams to have a male cheerleader,” said Sophmore Criminal Justice major, David Mele, an active member of the University of New Haven cheer squad. “Whether or not there is a male cheerleader is not going to change people’s preference on which team they like. It is going to become a big political discussion if cheer teams should be required to have boys on the team.”

Cheerleading originated as an all-male university sport in the 1800s, since at the time women were not allowed to attend college. It wasn’t until 1923 that women were first allowed to cheer. omen were joining many teams in the ‘20s, and it wasn’t until the ‘40s that they joined in large numbers, since so many men went off to fight in World War II instead of attending universities.

Even though this is considered a milestone for the NFL, according to the Los Angeles Times, Peron and Junnies were faced with slurs and extreme taunting, both in person and throughout social media. Now, these two men have ended their career-changing season paving a new path for male cheerleaders everywhere.

With the Rams and Saints accepting male cheerleaders on their squad it opens the question, will other teams follow in their footsteps?

“I’m sure after the Super Bowl, some teams might want to have guys on the team just so they can say they have them,” said Mele. “The way I think is whoever can perform and run the routine perfectly should be on the team.”