Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Lions still considering hiring cheerleaders for first time, will do it 'right way'

DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions are still contemplating bringing in cheerleaders for the 2016 season, although a decision on whether that will happen needs to occur soon.

Lions team president Rod Wood said at the Taste of the Lions event Wednesday that if the franchise is going to have cheerleaders, “we’re going to do it the right way.” He also said if the franchise continues to not have cheerleaders, he will explain why the team decided not to go in that direction.

The Lions are one of six NFL teams without cheerleaders; the ongoing consideration is a change from two years ago, when former team president Tom Lewand told MLive the franchise was “very comfortable” being one of the few teams in the league not to have cheerleaders.

Wood said that like many of the team’s decisions, it will be in part because of what the fans want.

So what would the “right way” be in terms of employing a cheerleading squad for the first time?

“Well, we want to do it in terms of style, the presentation on the field, there’s a lot of legal issues in terms of how they are employed or not employed by the team,” Wood said. “So it’s not as easy as just having tryouts and having cheerleaders.”

Wood also said Wednesday the team is getting closer to figuring out jerseys for the 2017 season and that there will be another meeting in the next few weeks to see where things stand. He said he might have an update after that.

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