Let’s All Cheer for NFL Cheerleader Randolph Rivera

September 16, 2025
HANK ORSO

Y'all. Y'ALL! What is up with NFL male cheerleaders, their lovers, and their detractors? Earlier this year, the heavens were rent asunder when Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn were added to the roster of cheerleaders for the Minnesota Vikings. And by "rent asunder," I mean "basement dwellings incels got their panties all in a twist that gay-seeming men were infiltrating their pleasure of watching completely not-homo sweaty men slam into each other as they fought over balls." These were the first male cheerleaders for that team, but there have been male cheerleaders on NFL teams since 2018 with the Rams. Insert your own joke here. Now nearly a third of NFL teams include male cheerleaders.

So who is Randolph Rivera? Someone yer gonna wanna take notice of, that's who! At 31, he's starting his ninth season as a "cheerleader," meaning he's dancing and performing on the stunt team for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this being his fifth season with them. His first four seasons were with the Baltimore Ravens on their coed stunt squad. There are currently 71 male cheerleaders across 11 teams.

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A post shared by Randolph Rivera (@dolph728)

And yes, boys, he's gay (yay!) and married (boooo...but yay for him!). And anyone who tries to come at him for any of those things and cheerleading might have a surprise waiting. This guy can bench 215 pounds, a necessity when performing physically grueling stunts.

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A post shared by Randolph Rivera (@dolph728)

If you caught wind of those anti-Vikings rumblings last Spring over Shiek and Conn, it seems that was more a product of the conflagration that arises when anyone on the internet gets a bee in their bonnet, and others glom on. According to the team office, no one has cancelled their season tickets over the new addition to their squad, though many jumped on the socials to proclaim their intent to do so. Men, and gay men in particular, are not new to NFL stunt and dance squads. Last year, the Rams had five gay men on their roster for their Super Bowl game.

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A post shared by Randolph Rivera (@dolph728)

Rivera married his equally handsome hubby, Rene Alonso, last Spring. And we couldn't be happier for this gorgeous couple! As he wrote in the above IG post:

There’s no place in the world I’d rather be than in your arms. All I want for the future is to keep sharing it with you, I can’t imagine my life without you by my side and I discovered that love is not sought, it finds you when you least expect it.