Carolina Panthers cheerleader vows to fight NC trans sports ban: ‘It’s bigger than me’
Justine Lindsay, a Carolina Panthers TopCats cheer team member, made history after becoming the NFL’s first transgender cheerleader.
Now, she’s using her newfound platform to fight a North Carolina law that, she says, discriminates against people like her.
Last month, the North Carolina legislature voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill that bans transgender athletes from participating in middle and high school sports that correspond with their gender identities, The News & Observer reported.
Though the law doesn’t impact her position on the TopCats, Lindsay vowed to keep advocating for her “trans brothers and sisters,” she said in an interview with Elle.
“I will fight this until I can’t fight it anymore,” Lindsay told Elle. “It saddens me to see it.”
After making the cheer team, Lindsay started “Real Time Real Talk,” a podcast about her experience on the squad, and spoke at an event to bring awareness to LGBTQ inclusion in professional sports.
But every aspect of Lindsay’s experience on the team hasn’t been positive.
Lindsay explained that she has encountered her fair share of cyberbullying from football fans, but she doesn’t let it get to her since the consequences of intolerance can be deadly.
Not long before Lindsay joined the team, two transgender women were killed in shootings in Charlotte hotels.
“Everything that I’m going through now, it’s bigger than me,” Lindsay told Elle. “I’m setting things up for the younger generation. No one is going to stop this show.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
