Overview

• Sen. Tommy Tuberville condemned the NFL and the Vikings in an OutKick interview, warning teams will “lose” fans if male dancers perform on sidelines.
• The Vikings reiterated support for Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn, telling NBC News men have appeared on prior squads and that about one-third of NFL teams now include male cheerleaders.
• Shiek and Conn answered detractors with a joint Instagram post after weeks of online attacks and boycott threats.
• Some conservatives defended the pair, with Tomi Lahren and Meghan McCain dismissing the outrage and former NFL receiver Torrey Smith saying, “If he wants to cheer, let him cheer.”
• High-profile critics continued to target the move, from Ben Shapiro and Kevin Sorbo to ex-Vikings captain Jack Brewer, who called the hires embarrassing in comments to Fox News.