Gay 49ers cheerleader has the perfect clapback for homophobic fans
Jon is in his second season cheering for the San Francisco 49ers. And he has a message for the guy in the 37th row who doesn't like it. The post Gay 49ers cheerleader has the perfect clapback for homophobic fans appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Jon had never been a cheerleader until he got a gig cheering on an NFL team.
Truth be told, he had tried out for the San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush cheer team years ago, at the same time as his dance classmate and friend, Jonathan Romero, gave the NFL a shot. Romero landed the job that first time around, cheering on the 49ers for a couple years as the team’s first male cheerleader.
Yet when Romero retired from the 49ers and Gold Rush last year, Jon saw an opportunity.
“Him retiring was some sort of encouragement that, now that he’s retired I think I can be the next person to do that,” Jon said, “considering the fact that he and I had kind of a very similar training, both dancing at Sac Dance Lab at the same time.”
Now Jon’s one of the many NFL cheerleaders on the game day sideline, cheering on one of the storied sports franchises in America.
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From Manila to the NFL
It’s been an amazing journey for Jon, who was born in the Philippines in the capital of Manila.
“My parents moved and sacrificed what they had in the Philippines to make sure that my brothers and I had the best opportunities, compared to what we had back there,” Jon said.
His parents moved their family when Jon was only 6, relocating to California.
Jon attended a high school with excellent performing arts… and no sports teams — Natomas Charter School in the Sacramento area. With no teams, Jon turned to another form of athletics and movement.
“I started dancing because I needed PE credits to graduate from high school,” he said.
While he danced… again, there were no sports teams at the school to cheer. When he made his way to Sacramento State University, he kept dancing yet still didn’t gravitate to cheering despite the Hornets having basketball and football teams.
When he tried out for the 49ers, it was his first cheer tryout ever. His second time was the charm.
Acceptance from 49ers staff, coaches, cheerleaders and players
The professional atmosphere around the San Francisco 49ers organization results in some clear distinctions between the cheerleaders and the players. There’s a storied — for good and bad — history of relationships between football players and cheerleaders.
Today, NFL teams are particularly protective of cheerleaders, even hiding their full names (the 49ers requested we not use Jon’s last name in this article) to prevent any kind of fan stalking or the like.
That comes from a long history of female cheerleaders having to deal with issues from fans.
“With so much history, there’s a clear separation,” Jon said. Even during games, while they may be feet away from the players, there’s little more than a nod as the players and the cheerleaders have two different jobs to do on game day.
Yet to be sure, away from the games, they do interact. Jon has found the players and coaches to be nothing but respectful.
“I’ve been to a good amount of appearances where I have been close to them,” Jon said. “I haven’t had any weird experiences, and I think whenever I see a coach or I’m in the same room as them, there is an acknowledgement. There’s always a ‘thank you for having us, thank you for having me,’ all of that kind of stuff, and it’s very professional.”
It’s not lost on Jon that, as one of the gay male NFL cheerleaders, he happens to fit a societal “stereotype” of what men grab poms, dance and cheer. He said it has over the years put a different kind of pressure on him.
Still, he’s embracing all of it and for good reason.
“One of the things I’m trying to work on is finding my own uniqueness. And living my life just the way I want it, even if it does happen to be that stereotype.”
No doubt he hears — and even reads — some of the comments about it. Some straight men and NFL fans seem to find an odd pleasure in mocking the gay male cheerleader.
Jon’s OK with seeing and hearing the nonsense about him from the guy in Row 37.
“Guess what? I’m on the field. So bye, gurl!”
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The post Gay 49ers cheerleader has the perfect clapback for homophobic fans appeared first on Outsports.
