8 Troubling Facts Americas Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Exposes

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders pushes the boundaries of the typical sports docu-series, exposing some long-held norms held by the DCC organization that may be troubling. Following the 2023-2024 NFL season, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders season 1 provided an in-depth look at the world-famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who have been a pinnacle of professional cheerleading in the US since the 1970s. The DCC organization, which is run by the Jones family along with the NFL team, has appeared on TV shows, in movies, and in general pop culture for decades.

Even though the squad isn’t the main attraction at their games, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have become one of the main selling points of the organization. With children who grow up aspiring to be Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, young women who proudly don the uniform as Halloween costumes, and former DCC squad members waxing poetic about their time as Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the organization has a tight grip on its audience. Their first foray into reality TV, CMT’s Making The Team: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, exposed the intense process behind getting to be a part of the storied organization.

While Making The Team was a great competition reality TV show, the series didn’t delve nearly as much into the organization itself as it could’ve. Focusing on the audition process as a high-stakes competition, Making The Team did highlight the cheerleaders who were hoping to join or re-join the squad, but didn’t delve into their lives outside of the audition process. With many wondering what it was like to be in the mind of an auditioning Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, Making The Team didn’t exactly deliver all that it could’ve surrounding the organization and those who participate in it.

In the 2023-2024 NFL season, the cameras behind America’s Sweethearts decided to give the full scope of what it was like to spend an entire year with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, both on the field and off. Starting from the audition process, where rookie and veteran candidates both had to perform for a huge panel of judges, the docu-series took an in-depth look into the lives of those in the organization. Highlighting the coaches and managers as well as the cheerleaders themselves, America’s Sweethearts gave an all-access look into the past, present, and future of the organization.

Although there were some incredibly high points of the docu-series, it didn’t shy away from the scary underbelly of the world of professional cheerleading. Having to be both athletic and aesthetically appealing, NFL cheerleaders have to deal with some incredibly tough conditions for their performances. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in particular, because of their high profile in the industry, have some of the most difficult conditions and troubling standards in the NFL. America’s Sweethearts revealed some dark truths about the organization.

8 DCC Underpays Their Cheerleaders

They Don’t Make A Living Wage

While the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are expected to perform at every home game of the season, make public appearances, and uphold a specific set of standards, their pay is severely lacking. Throughout America’s Sweethearts, the women shared that they were paid a minimal amount for the huge amount of work they do with the DCC. Though specifics weren’t shared in the docu-series, one former DCC shared that she believed they made about as much as someone working at a fast food restaurant for their time.

While some of the women profiled on America’s Sweethearts were lucky not to have to work while they were auditioning, preparing, and performing with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, others had full time jobs. Kelcey Wetterberg, who was a five-year veteran during the season covered on the series, was working full time as a pediatric nurse before DCC practices and games. Charlotte Jones, operational manager of the DCC, shared that while she understood the criticism, she felt that performing with the team was payment in itself because of the prestige.

7 DCC Are Pressured About Their Body Image

They Don’t Offer Mental Health Resources

As athletes, the majority of the DCC had body types that fit the typical beauty standard, but their bodies being on full display was incredibly difficult for their mental health. While the cheerleaders all come from different walks of life, the members of the DCC have to fit into incredibly tight, specific uniforms for each of their performances. Even during the audition process, their bodies were judged from every angle in ways that were shocking to see on camera.

From the distance of one woman’s belly button to the hem of her pants to another woman being cut for her height, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were picked apart consistently, and in a detached manner that made it clear their feelings weren’t being considered. Former DCC Victoria Kalina, whose final season was documented on America’s Sweethearts, was open about the way her mental health has suffered from the judgment and pressure surrounding her body.

6 DCC Can Be Cut In An Instant

Some Recruits Relocate Their Entire Lives

While the chance to become a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader is the opportunity of a lifetime, the swiftness with which it can end is jarring for viewers and participants alike. Throughout America’s Sweethearts, it was noted that only 36 women tend to make the team at the end of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders training camp. Even though there are typically nearly 50 women going into the camp, many will be cut before the season officially begins, and seeing those cuts can be absolutely brutal.

Some recruits are located in Texas, either in Dallas or surrounding areas, but most of the women who are interested in becoming part of the DCC team are from other areas in the US. Women travel from all over the country in order to try out for the team, picking up their lives and relocating to Texas to try and fulfill their dreams. While the urge to audition and the feeling of making it to the team is like no other, the majority of the candidates are cut from training camp with a quick meeting and little feedback on why.

5 DCC Aren’t A Diverse Team Or Organization

They Are A Predominantly White Space

While there are diverse candidates who try out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and make it into the organization, the space is predominantly white in a way that’s incredibly noticeable. The cheerleaders who try out for the squad can be of any race or ethnicity, and while the class of candidates shown on America’s Sweethearts did have some diversity, the majority of the women were white, southern, and conservative. Though there’s no issue in being any of those markers, there’s little representation outside of those groups.

The issue with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders struggling to be diverse throughout the squad is that they claim to be representative of America itself. Throughout America’s Sweethearts, it was stressed that the DCC are the squad cheering on America’s team, and the amount of people who likely don’t feel represented by the women on the squad is huge. The diversity issue for the DCC is a pressing problem.

They Face Even Deeper Criticism

Throughout America’s Sweethearts, there were many mentions of the legacy cheerleaders who were interested in joining or re-joining the squad. Legacies, or candidates who descend from former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, would presumably have an easier time making the squad because of the connections they have in the organization, but the docu-series actually proved the opposite. Legacies on the DCC actually seem to have more pressure on them from the organization and their support system because of the expectations surrounding them.

While the legacy cheerleaders have an inside scoop into what its like to be a DCC, they also have the pressure of having to perform well enough to impress the organization, who are aware of their legacy status. The coaches seem to expect more from legacies, and it can be difficult for them to balance the expectations vs. the reality of what being a DCC is really like. The legacies face even deeper criticism, which can be hard to handle.

3 DCC Struggles To Be Transparent

The Organization Is Very Secretive

While the DCC has a huge number of people moving within the organization, the majority of what’s happening behind the scenes is kept under a veil of secrecy. Though America’s Sweethearts opened up the curtain behind the audition process and the coaches relationships with the team, each other, and the organization, there was a huge amount of information left out about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in the docu-series. From the reasoning behind cuts to the amount of money the DCC team is paid, the details were kept quiet throughout the show.

Though there was some secrecy expected on America’s Sweethearts, the fact that the DCC struggles to be transparent is a pressing issue. For the candidates themselves, the lack of transparency makes it hard to decide if they’ll continue trying to audition or move on with their lives. For the public, it makes it difficult to root for an organization that appears to be keeping secrets.

2 DCC Has Dated Values & Practices

They Haven’t Refreshed In Decades

Though the DCC has been able to move into the twenty-first century with its audition processes and the addition of reality TV to its roster of endeavors, the rules and regulations surrounding the organization are still antiquated. The dated practices and rules, which go back to the 1970s and 1980s, aren’t something that the team appears to be looking to change any time soon. Though the DCC have brought some modernity into their squad, the rules themselves for the cheerleaders are laughably dated in some regards.

From the uniform specificity to a rule about chewing gum, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are expected to uphold the standards of an American woman who doesn’t really exist anymore. With some antiquated notions behind their rule book, the DCC has saddled their cheerleaders with some difficult regulations to abide by. Overall, the cheerleaders are pushed to uphold values that they likely don’t agree with.

1 DCC Dehumanizes The Team

They Don’t Act Like They’re Dealing With People

Although America’s Sweethearts attempted to show the human side to the DCC audition process and the behind-the-scenes negotiation surrounding the coaches moving forward into training camp, there were many moments in the series that dehumanized the team. The way that the ownership and coaches spoke about the cheerleaders sometimes made it difficult to empathize with their position of power in the organization, as they often made it seem like the DCC team were bodies performing, not performers in their own right. It was dehumanizing, which was tough to watch when the entire rest of the documentary humanized the team.

Throughout America’s Sweethearts, the DCC ownership and coaching staff had to look at the performer objectively, but that sometimes led to less-than-favorable critique. The deliberation process surely isn’t easy, but it was tough to hear the women who were supposed to be fostering community for the DCC team speak about them as though they weren’t human. While America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders showed all angles of the team, this one was particularly tough to swallow.

Sources: Netflix/Instagram, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders/Instagram

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (2024)

The docuseries delves into the iconic world of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, offering a behind-the-scenes look at their rigorous training, high-stakes auditions, and glamorous performances. It captures the personal stories of the cheerleaders, their challenges, triumphs, and the camaraderie that binds them.