Thereโs no role in the world of cheerleading as covetable as being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. The Texan teamโs cheer squad are the cream of the cropโbut that prestige comes with a cost.
Since the team rose to icon status in the 1970s, DCC have had to abide by a set of rules, including about who they can date and how they can dress. While they rulebook has changed over time, the regulations are strongly enforced and being part of the troupe means sticking to them. A handful of these rules, both old and new, have been highlighted in a new Netflix docuseries about the team, titled Americaโs Sweethearts.
From touching on how little they get paid to the strict aesthetic requirements theyโre held to; the docuseries highlighted some of the grit behind the glamour, giving us a peak inside the DCC locker room. Ahead, we round up some of the most surprising rules Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have to follow.
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1. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Are Not Allowed To Date Football Players
American teen movies may typically pair up the cheer captain and the quarterback, but donโt expect to see this play out within the Dallas Cowboys institution.
While itโs not entirely clear whether this is still enforced, in the 1970s and 80s it was a strict rule that cheerleaders werenโt to fraternize with players.
โCowboys cheerleaders were off limits, and I think that only added to the aura of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which separated them from a lot of other cheerleader groups around the country,โ retired TV sports reporter Dale Hansen explained on Americaโs Girls, a podcast about DCC.
However, there is nothing to stop cheerleaders dating Dallas Cowboys players once they have retired from the squad, as there are no restrictions on who the footballers can date. DCCโs own website points to Niki Green as an example. Green cheered for the team at the Super Bowl XXX in 1996, and went on to marry Cowboys punter Toby Gowin following her retirement.
2. Tattoos Have To Be Hidden
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are not prohibited from having tattoosโbut donโt expect to spot any ink on the field.
The organisationโs website states that tattoos are not an issue, however, they cannot be visible when in uniform.
3. No Chewing Gum
Americaโs Sweethearts features a clip of Suzanne Mitchell, who was the DCCโs director from 1976 to 1989, chastising a cheerleader for chewing gum.
It was a part of Mitchellโs rulebook that troupe members were prohibited from chewing gum. While it is unclear whether this is still enforced, you will be hard-pressed to catch a DCC with a Juicy Fruit on the side lines.
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4. Cheerleaders Must Attend Every Rehearsal
A copy of Mitchellโs list of rules features in the 2018 documentary Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story Of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. It includes, โ Candidates who do not feel they can attend all rehearsals should not contemplate being a Dallas Cowboy[s] Cheerleader.โ
This note still stands today, with the statementโs exact wording published on the organisationโs websiteโin all capital letters, no less.
Netflixโs documentary spotlights several DCC who work physically demanding, full-time day jobs and still make it to practice every day!
5. Cheerleaders Have To Maintain A Certain Look
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are expected to maintain a clean image, both on and off the field. In Candy Evansโ 1`982 book A Decade of Dreams, which details the history of the DCC, alum Presley Killmer explained that outside of performances, the women were expected to be โsqueaky clean.โ
While they were expected to look and act โsexyโ on game day, the rest of the time it was, โHigh heels, pantyhose, business suit, makeup and hair done, mannerly, good etiquette,โ according to Killmer, who was DCC in the โ80s.
They even have a guide on their website to what companies provide the cheerleaderโs products and services, including their tan, hair and meal prep. The site also features tutorials from DCC on how to replicate their signature hair and makeup.
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However, the organisationโs control over the cheerleaderโs appearance goes deeper than hair and makeup.
Mitchellโs aforementioned list is explicit in stating โcheerleaders gaining weight are dropped from the roster.โ While current director, Kelli Finglass is less direct with her wording on-camera, and the organisation states it does not have any height or weight requirements, there are multiple instances in Americaโs Sweethearts where management remark on the size or shape of a cheerleaderโs body in the notoriously revealing uniforms.
โYou donโt get a new uniform. Once youโre fitted for that uniform, that size is the size that you get. You donโt get to go up. If you go up, theyโre like, โWhy does this not fit you?โ โ a veteran cheerleader says in the series.