Lindsay Justine is making history after being hired as the first transgender cheerleader for the Carolina Panthers’ Topcats squad in the NFL.

Lindsay, who is 29 years old, shared the news on her Instagram account on March 30. However, it went unnoticed until this weekend when BuzzFeed News conducted an interview with her. Here is the post from Instagram:

Cats Out the Bag you are looking at the newest member of the Carolina Panthers TopCats Cheerleader’s @topcats as the first Transgender female l. I would like to thank the beautiful and talented dancers who supported me along the way alumni TopCats family and friends for your love and support. I would not have gotten to this moment in my life if it wasn’t for the support. Also to my beautiful coach @chandalaelanouette you are a special being that I truly cherish thank you taking that leap of faith on me to be apart of your legacy and so many others. This is a moment I will never forget and I cannot wait to show you all what this girl has to bring. Thank you @topcats a dream come true.

Lindsay, who was added to the trans team by Chandalae Lanouette, the director of Topcats, was hired for her talent without any barriers being broken.

Lanouette informed BuzzFeed News, ‘in order to reach that location, one must first enter through the doorway.’ Ultimately, virtuous individuals, close companions, and extraordinary human beings in the changing room are undeniably exceptional on the playing field – a collective of individuals I strive to establish.

Lindsay is proud to break barriers, especially as a trans Black person, because she wants recognition for shedding light on this. “This is significant,” she expressed. “I think people need to see more of this.”

The team’s performance in the game was exceptional.Output: The team’s display in the game was outstanding.

Thank you to all my haters who think I’m bringing the organization down, clearly I don’t. The carolina panthers Organization is an excellent one, one that supports all people white, black , yellow trans, straight etc. at the end of the day myself and the other 29 members @topcats made the squad fair and square. so what if I’m ️‍⚧️ so what I’m paving the way for those under me who are scared and afraid to take that step because it is not easy to do when you have ignorant people making comments that didn’t go through the process like the rest of us. I will continue to be that pioneer I will continue to inspire and help my African American beautiful trans sisters until my last breath. So please mind your manners and understand that if you can’t say anything nice please keep it to yourself.

In recent years, there have been a decline in barriers in cheerleading in the NFL. In 2018, the Los Angeles Rams became the first team to openly hire male gay cheerleaders, and this year, the team had five gay cheerleaders for the Super Bowl. Additionally, other teams have also hired gay cheerleaders, and the Panthers hired two gay cheerleaders last year.

Congratulations to the Panthers for deciding to employ Lindsay and to her for accepting her role as a pioneer.