She did not just cheer, she led, and that too from the front, bracing the truth of her life. “We can be empowered by so many things—you don’t need hair to feel that,” Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Armani Latimer had said in a conversation with Women’s Health Magazine, squashing stereotype. So, during the Cowboys’ Monday night game against the Bengals, Latimer went out with her cheerleader group, wigless, to stage her first bald performance. Not as easy as it might seem.

At the beginning of this season, Latimer spoke to the director of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Kelli Finglass about the potential of going wig-free for the annual My Cause My Boots game. According to Latimer, Kelli loved the idea. Even then, Latimer was scared thinking that the game would be live in front of over 80 thousand people and she might end up on TV. But as she eventually overcame that with her fellow cheerleaders by her side, tears of joy rolled in.

DC cheerleaders posted the emotional yet confident move on Instagram as they captioned, “Confidence takes center stage for Alopecia Awareness.” One of her fellows said, “We’re so proud that you’re doing this and you’re representing a lot of little girls out there. They’re going to be looking at you in awe at your strength, knowing that they are going to feel so beautiful after this because of what you’re doing today,” as Latimer was seen wiping tears. And she was not alone there, sportscaster Erin Andrews also went emotional at the sight.

Andrews chimed and showed her praise by writing on the DC Cheerleaders’ post, “This is AWESOME 😢!” The cheerleader first revealed she had been diagnosed with Alopecia, which causes hair loss, on Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders earlier this year. It is a condition that causes the immune system to attack the hair follicles, resulting in occasional bald spots that become bigger with stress. It all started when Latimer was 11.

Latimer can recall the day when her mother unraveled her braid and noticed a bald spot. She initially thought that it had happened during the braiding process. But she knew Latimer’s father had struggled with hair loss, so she took her to a dermatologist. At the age of 12, she was officially diagnosed with alopecia.

At that age, she didn’t have many bald spots. And the ones that were there were easy to cover up. But the older she got, the more pronounced they became. Once she got to college, stress caused more hair loss that took much longer to grow back. Shortly after college, she auditioned to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and attempted to wear her hair naturally, but the demands of being a training camp candidate and trying to make the team caused her hair to fall out at a faster rate. Once her hair fell out completely, she started wearing wigs.

According to Latimer, her biggest challenge was to be honest with herself. People often tend to believe that cheerleaders are flawless. In fact, since their inception in the 1950s, NFL cheerleaders have been held to a high beauty standard. It also took Latimer a while to unlearn this notion. But she found a strong reason to do that.

“I figure that if I can overcome my negative self-talk and self-defeating mindset, I can help change the experience for the next 12-year-old who gets diagnosed. She can start healing early instead of waiting until she’s 23, like me. There’s so much societal pressure that comes with being a woman—we don’t need more,” she thought. But simultaneously, she also thinks that it would not have been possible without the support she received from the people around her. Many of them came out to give a shout-out to the braveheart after Monday night.

Armani Latimer’s alopecia campaign earned praise

Latimer’s teammates continued to express their admiration for Latimer’s bravery. “It is truly one of the greatest honors to be your teammate,” DCC member and America’s Sweetheart star Reece Weaver wrote via Instagram. “You have been made for such a time as this. I love you so much 💜”

DCC’s Charly Barby commented on the video, “I will cry every time I watch this ❤️Armani you are truly my idol in every single way. You embody everything a leader should be, have truly become my best friend, and my rock!! I’m so excited that the world gets to see how inspiring and amazing you are!!!!” Former DC cheerleader, Marissa Phillips, wrote, “Thank you for sharing this piece of yourself with the world. The strength you have is so inspiring.”

Even Clearance Hill Jr., sports journalist and senior writer for the Cowboys at Fort Worth Star-Telegram couldn’t hold himself from adoring Latimer. He took to his official X handle and tweeted, “Congrats and much respect to Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Armani Latimer. She revealed she had alopecia on the Cheerleaders Netflix show America’s Sweethearts. She had been wearing a wig all season but performed bald for the first time during Monday’s game between the Bengals and Cowboys.”

A few months ago, Armani Latimer also posted her picture of herself spreading awareness for alopecia, featuring her bald look as she captioned, “Alopecia Awareness Month.” No doubt, her courageous and confident moves will give hope to millions who are suffering from the illness.