{"id":179074,"date":"2025-07-03T20:18:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T20:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/179074\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T20:18:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T20:18:10","slug":"dallas-cowboys-cheerleader-sparks-outcry-with-pompom-tiktok-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/179074\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys cheerleader sparks outcry with pompom TikTok video"},"content":{"rendered":"

Netflix\u2019s documentary series America\u2019s Sweethearts<\/a> catapulted the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders into the national spotlight.<\/p>\n

First, their stunningly low salaries<\/a> became television fodder and the squad landed a 400% pay raise<\/a> for the 2025 season. Now, it\u2019s that most ubiquitous cheerleading symbol at the center of debate: pompoms. <\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Abby Summers, a rookie from Ohio, posted a TikTok video<\/a> this week demonstrating how she fluffs her pompoms. <\/p>\n

\u201cTonight starts pompom fluffing time,\u201d Summers says in the video. \u201cAs I fluff, I\u2019m going to catch up on the rest of my Love Island episode.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The video shows Summers chatting about the reality show Love Island<\/a> while tying pieces of blue, white and silver material together. \u201cYou just keep repeating the process of tying in different directions until it gets fluffy,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

The video has been watched more than 3 million times and drew a swift response. Many are surprised the cheerleaders are responsible for fluffing their own pompoms. Others said they had no idea pompoms even needed fluffing.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine if the football players had to blow up the footballs themselves and make their costumes,\u201d one commenter wrote.<\/p>\n

Another said, \u201cDCC is literally so embarrassing what do you mean you have to make your own pom-poms and wash your own uniform that you don\u2019t even get to keep when you retire?!?!?!?! It\u2019s a multi billion dollar organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Summers did not immediately respond to a message Thursday from The Dallas Morning News sent through TikTok. A spokesperson for the Dallas Cowboys<\/a> also did not immediately respond to an email from The News.<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are apparently not the only ones responsible for fluffing their own pompoms. In 2023, Miami Dolphins cheerleader Bella Denton posted a TikTok video<\/a> about things you might not know about NFL cheerleaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fluff our own poms and fluffing one pom takes me like two and a half hours,\u201d Denton says in the video. \u201cIt takes so long to fluff, but once it\u2019s done, it\u2019s so rewarding because they look so pretty and new.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second season of Netflix\u2019s hit series America\u2019s Sweethearts<\/a> follows the squad\u2019s 2024-25 team, from auditions and training camp through the NFL season. The seven-episode series debuted in June. <\/p>\n

Pay emerged as one of the biggest issues in the show. Asked by a producer in the first season how much a Cowboys cheerleader makes, 2022 cheerleader Kat Puryear replied, \u201cI would say I\u2019m making like \u2026 a substitute teacher. I would say I\u2019m making \u2026 like a Chick-fil-A worker who works full-time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Criticism around the dancers\u2019 compensation is not new, and many of the cheerleaders worked second or even third jobs. In 2018, Cowboys cheerleader Erica Wilkins alleged in federal court<\/a> that she earned less than half of what the team\u2019s mascot, Rowdy, made. She said the organization failed to pay her minimum wage and overtime costs. The case was settled in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Jones, executive vice president of the Cowboys and chief brand officer, acknowledged the low pay in the documentary but said the cheerleaders are not drawn by financial success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of cynicism around pay for NFL cheerleaders, as there should be. They\u2019re not paid a lot,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the facts are that they actually don\u2019t come here for the money. They come here for something that\u2019s actually bigger than that to them.\u201d<\/p>\n