Click here to check out the NFL’s latest cheerleader photos. It’s Military Appreciation month. Last week, the Texans Cheerleaders wore their military outfits, and this week was the Colts Cheerleaders’ turn.
Kellie Covington earns captain’s duties in third NFL season.
By Mike Dunham
Anchorage Daily News
November 12, 2011
In the history of the National Football League, only 10 Alaskans have gone onto the field as players. A lot fewer have made the cut to be cheerleaders for an NFL team.
One who has is Kellie Covington of Anchorage, now in her third year with the Miami Dolphins. Covington is the captain of the “Wolf Pack” squad, named in honor of her home state’s dominant canine predator.
“I run 10 girls on the sidelines,” she said, supervising their performance and creating the group’s choreographic routines. The 42-member cheerleading team has four captains and to be selected in her third year is “an honor,” she said.
“On the other hand, I’m also the scapegoat, the one who has to answer when anything goes wrong.”
Covington, 25, was born in Anchorage. Her father, Rodney Henderson, was a news anchorman on KIMO television and later sales manager at KTBY.
Kellie attended Rogers Park Elementary, Wendler Middle School and East High. A self-described tomboy, she didn’t participate in cheerleading or organized sports, except for some track at Wendler and extra-curricular soccer. “I preferred snowboarding,” she said.
The family moved to Slidell, La., in her junior year. She attended Florida International University in Miami and got into dance and sports. Covington helped compile statistics on college teams and started cheerleading. Friends urged her to try out for the Dolphins, but she resisted.
“I’m an outdoors girl. I like hunting and fishing. Putting me in a two-piece uniform with a lot of makeup is a little out of my league,” she said. “But I finally got up the courage and tried out.”
The cheerleaders practice three nights a week. “Basically it’s a high cardio workout for three and a half hours,” she said. “It gets a little easier later in the season when you get more familiar with what you’re doing.”
A big part of the job is public service work. “One of my favorites is ‘Shopping with the ‘Fins’ at Thanksgiving. We take 50 or 60 underprivileged kids shopping for groceries. It’s nice.”
Other community events include backpack giveaways and clothes shopping events with similar children, reading programs, hospital and military events, fundraisers for cancer research and abused women’s shelters and foreign trips.
“We went to Haiti three months after the earthquake. I’ve been to Honduras, Japan; we’re going to Mexico at the end of the month. We really do go year-round.”
For all that, it’s still a part-time gig. Covington’s day job is as a restaurant and recreation supervisor for Marriott International. (“An Alaska company!” she said, noting the connection with NANA Regional Corp.) “I run two bars, three swimming pools and oversee kids’ activities and summer camps.”
Of course, cheerleading is not a career that’s likely to see you into retirement. After switching majors from journalism to education, Covington is now pursuing a degree in English, which she expects to complete this year.
“I’d like to teach English or history,” she said. “Preferably in the upper grades. I did preschool for a year and got way too attached to the children. Older kids hate their teachers, so that works.”
Beyond teaching, however, she has hopes of starting her own charity group. She’s just begun working on the paperwork required to become a tax-exempt organization for orphans, foster kids and abandoned children.
“The idea is to mentor the kids, provide them with that sense of support they otherwise don’t get, let them know they’re not forgotten,” she said.
Her other goal is to get back to Alaska to visit family. She’s partial to coming up during the State Fair or at Christmas.
“I want to see either a giant turkey leg or a white Christmas,” she said. “In Florida, people don’t get it. It’s 85 degrees. There’s something unholy about palm trees with Christmas lights on them. It’s not OK. Santa on an alligator is not OK.”
You might recall back in July 2010, I had the pleasure of interviewing a true gentleman, David Nelson of the Buffalo Bills. In Week 2, he caught a game winning touchdown with 14 seconds remaining against the Oakland Raiders to lift the Buffalo Bills to a 2-0 record for the first time since 2008. Through our interview, David mentioned how his girlfriend, Kelsi Reich, shared his evident desire to help others. Kelsi is also involved with the NFL, as she is a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. Together, they are such a cute couple and amazing role models of a faith-based relationship and lifestyle of giving back to others.
When did you know you wanted to be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader (DCC)?
Growing up in Texas, my family raised me to watch and love the Cowboys, but never in a million years did I think to try out to be one of America’s Sweethearts. My mom owns a dance studio, so I was raised dancing and learned to love football at a young age. Both of my parents worked for football organizations so every Sunday, the Cowboys were on the TV. At the age of 17, I competed at Nationals, where I performed my solo. One of my judges, Shelly McCaslin, is a recruiter for the DCC and pulled me aside after awarding me first place. She told me I needed to try out, which put the thought in my head. Later in the conversation, she asked me how old I was, and I told her 17. She then informed me that once I turned 18, she would issue me a by-pass to try out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. A by-pass means you can skip the first round of auditions, preliminaries, and go straight to semi-finals. Don’t forget, I was still in high school at this time and never thought I would actually make it. I wanted it so bad, but in the back of my mind, I was prepared to get cut since I felt like a baby with so many beautiful and talented women. I strongly believe God placed Shelly into my life and was all part of the plan He created for me. I auditioned during my last weeks of high school, and drove back and forth from Houston. I am very grateful and feel so blessed to have made the team my first attempt at such a young age!
What is your favorite part about being a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader?
This is hard to answer because I love so many things about being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. Game days of course are absolutely amazing and exhilarating, but I also love interacting with children! My favorite appearance of the year are the hospital visits we take right before Christmas. My heart melts when I see the innocent little children stuck in the hospital during the holidays. Their smiles from hugging a Cowboys player or cheerleader light up the room and their courage inspires me more than they know!
Who or what inspires you?
My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ inspires me every day to be a woman of integrity, wisdom, and strength. I live by Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” My days are not complete if I don’t start off with a devotional and prayer. I live every day to glorify Him in all that I do and strive to be the example God created me to be. My family and boyfriend, David, also inspire me to chase my dreams. They are my strongest support system and keep in motivated.
What is the biggest challenge you face?
The biggest challenge I face is standing up against non-believers or people who disagree with my Faith in the Lord. Many times through my career, atheists or other religions have argued with my beliefs, but I have to try and show them that God still loves them. I strongly believe that I could be the only person to plant that seed in their life, and one day they can find His unconditional grace and mercy. The Bible tells us, “do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord…” (2 Timothy 1:8). It breaks my heart to see people live depressed lives; I love putting a smile one’s face and shed God’s light in their darkness.
What charities are you currently involved with?
I currently am not affiliated with specific charities, but I volunteer at my church during the week with an after school program called CHAMPS. Recently, I have felt my heart tugging to start or run a foundation for underprivileged children that aspire to receive a great education and play sports. I love kids and want to help them reach their dreams like my parents helped me do growing up. When I am done with school and DCC, you will see me more involved in charities!
How do you plan to use your influence?
I plan on using my influence to try and give more than I receive. This is often a hard concept for us to grasp, but it a quote by Sir Winston Churchill puts it into perspective: “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” God has blessed me so incredibly much, and I know that it is not for my own good or benefit. The Lord has given me a platform to share His love with everyone I come in contact with. He has blessed me with the man of my dreams, so we can become stronger together to witness and further God’s kingdom. My dreams of starting a foundation all tie into how I want to share my blessings with others.
How did you and David meet/how long have you been together?
David and I have known each other for almost 2 years and have “officially” been dating over a year and a half. We were connected through mutual friends, one of my old teammates of the DCC grew up with one of his old teammates that he played ball with at Florida. We initially started talking, not for the purpose of dating, but were friends with many things in common. We had no idea where our conversations would take us, but we ended up falling in love very fast. I’ve always heard “when you know…you know!” I thought that phrase was kind of a crazy concept…until I experienced that with David.
What do you think constitutes a good relationship?
In my eyes, a good relationship is based upon 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” I know David is the right one because I can replace ‘love’ with his name in each sentence. One thing that keeps our relationship alive is our goofiness. We love to laugh and be spontaneous. A great relationship should be fun and laid back. Life is short, so enjoy every moment with love, joy, and laughter!
What advice would you give to couples today?
The key to any successful relationship is not depending solely on each other, but depending on God first. Having a solid foundation upon the Lord will create stability. I have learned, when we seek God’s unconditional love, He will provide us with love to share with one another in relationships. There is no greater love than that of our Creator. Mine and David’s love comes from the Lord, and we continue to praise Him for giving us that blessing. We both maintain a strong relationship with the Him, which helps us keep a healthy relationship.
What is the key to any successful relationship?
Expectation leads to the root of all heartbreak. Never expect anything, then you will always be surprised and happy. Think deeply, every time we are heartbroken or upset in a relationship is because we expected something from our significant other. I try really hard not expect a lot and to appreciate everything David has done for me. He goes above and beyond to make sure I feel loved, and I can’t express in words how much that means to me. He knows that I need to feel loved all the time, and I know that he needs to feel respected all the time.
Milwaukee Bucks: Being an Energee! dancer involves more than just dancing. The ldies play a large role in teh Bucks entertainment experience, bringing fun and excitement beyond the game on court. As part of that role, the girls take part in a photo shoot prior to each season that provides images that will be used all season long in a variety of print and digital marketing pieces. Enjoy a sneak peak [sic] at what the day looks like through the Bucks.com lens.
Click here for video and photo galleries.
AndersonCooper.com
November 09, 2011
Imagine discovering one day, out of nowhere, someone is posting photos and spreading lies about you on the Internet — lies that trash your character and impact your career. That’s exactly what happened to Sarah Jones.
Sarah Jones was living what she says was a normal life — a high school English teacher in a relationship with a man she is now married to, and as a hobby, member of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading squad. In October 2009 she received a call that changed her life. The phone call came from one the Bengals players who told her they saw a posting on TheDirty.com which claimed she had been spotted around town with a Cincinnati Bengals player and had sex with the entire Bengals football team.
“That’s what it said,” says Jones. “That I had been seen out around Cincinnati with several football players… the picture is taken out of context because it’s taken at a charity event we did for Toys for Tots.” After seeing the October postings on the website, where people are encouraged to “submit dirt,” she contacted the site and begged them to take it down.
Jones says that she kind of let it go after the October posting, but when she saw another posting in December, claiming she had STDs and had sex in her classroom, she says she broke down, threw up and had a panic attack.
Because local news got wind of the story, Jones contacted school officials. “One day I was this credible teacher that they looked up to and listened to,” says Jones. “The next day I was a slut to them. I had a student come in and say I cannot come into my classroom and learn because you had sex in here and you’re a slut.”
Jones says she had to have a conversation with the 15-year-old students in her class to clear her name — telling them she did not have an STD and does not sleep around.
“I don’t teach elementary school. I teach high school,” says Jones. “These kids Google me. They see things. If it’s on the Internet, it’s real to them. They believe it.” Regardless of trying to clear her name, parents told Jones that they did not want their children in her class.
For the first time, Jones and the man responsible for TheDirty.com, Nik Richie, come face to face on “Anderson.”
“Nik, why did you create a site that allows people to spread lies and hurts people?” asks Anderson.
“Here’s the thing, Anderson. It’s more than just lies. TheDirty.com is the first ever reality Internet site. Reality TV is so big, I thought of an idea like no one’s doing reality Internet. Let me start the site.”
Richie continues, “It’s not lies. What we do is we get posts from all over the world. In Sarah’s case, she was a cheerleader. People were submitting pictures of her half naked as a cheerleader, and she was a teacher. And since then, I apologized to this girl. She just is constantly going on.”
Jones says this is the first time she had had any contact with him. “This is not a battle between me and him,” says Jones. “He didn’t post me on there. But it’s his website. The fact that someone can sleep at night and have a website that ruins people’s lives, I didn’t ask for this. I’m not a celebrity… I’m 26 years old… and the fact that he can do this to people, it’s completely delusional to me.”
Nik continues by comparing his website to that of a modern day library. “I’m just a librarian. You can’t go after the person just because you don’t like them.”
“First of all, Nik, my cousin’s a librarian in Mississippi, and she will freak out that you are comparing yourself to a librarian,” says Anderson. “You’re not a librarian, because librarians don’t stack the shelves with porn and smut. And if they did, they would be fired.”
This week’s Sports Illustrated NFL cheerleader gallery features teams from the Chargers, Bills, Cardinals, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Patriots, Redskins, and Raiders. Click here to go there now.
A new team photo and individual profiles for the Los Angeles Laker Girls are now online. Special shout-out to my girls Ancell, Jacquelyn, Jenn, Linette, Melissa, and Teresa. Work!
Click here to learn more about the ladies on the team.
