From flowy hair to stunning dance moves, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are known for turning heads.
But one cheerleader — Faith Ward — has caused a stir by daring to step outside of the box with a new beauty standard of her own.
In a TikTok video posted July 17, Ward celebrated making history as the first New Zealander to secure a spot on the 2025-2026 DCC squad.
Fans couldn’t help but notice in the clip that Ward sported her hair in a sleek ponytail — a total 180 from the traditional voluminous down hairdos that football fans have been used to seeing the team’s cheerleaders wear at games since the 1960s.
TikTok users left dozens of comments under the video about Ward’s unusual style.
“Just wondering why do you wear your hair up in a ponytail as a DCC I thought it was a requirement to have it up at practice?” one person questioned.
Another person asked, “Real question, I don’t normally see other dancers with their hair up, are you the only one?”
“Wait, why the ponytail?” another added.
In a separate now-viral video posted by DCC member Charly Barby, a ponytail-wearing Ward could be seen standing alongside Barby and other new recruits, who all wore their hair down.
Ward’s appearance in Barby’s video also sparked discourse among DCC fans.
“The pony is iconic but like how is she allowed to have it like that,” one fan commented under the video, while another declared, “No pony! It’s the DCC way.”
Ward addressed the backlash from fans, telling ABC Perth on Monday that she’s “broken that stereotype.”
“It’s crazy because obviously the DCC hairstyle is out, fluffy, voluminous, luscious, long locks, but I’ve broken that stereotype,” Ward said.
She then explained that the switch-up wasn’t her idea, but instead, DCC Director Kelli Finglass suggested the hairstyle change.
“So, I’m in rehearsal one of the days with my hair out and I am, you know, sweating after doing ‘Thunderstruck,’” she recalled. “[Finglass is] looking at me and she’s like, ‘You know what? I really want to see what your hair would look like tied up.’”
Ward continued, “I put it up for her and she really liked the way it danced, which was really cool because I was super excited about that. Your girl doesn’t want to have her hair out, sweaty in her face [while] dancing.”
Ward shared that Finglass compared her ponytail look to singer Ariana Grande.
“I go into uniform fittings and keep my hair up in hopes that she would like it still, and I walk in and she goes, ’You’re giving Ariana Grande! Like, we need an Ariana Grande moment on the team,’” she shared.
Ward said that Finglass suggested a few tweaks to her hairstyle.
“She’s like, ’Yeah, but I want your ponytail longer, I want it blonder and then I want to see at cameo day whether I prefer you be with your hair out or in a ponytail.’”
But according to Ward, whether her ponytail is here to stay is still up in the air.
“So the reason why I haven’t addressed it yet is because I want to wait and see what she has to say as to whether or not it’s solidified yet,” she told the outlet. “So right now, it’s looking very hopeful that I will be a DCC with a ponytail.”
Ward added, “But, we still have to keep an open mind to the possibility that I could be going back to my hair out. So we can’t get too excited yet!”
The chatter over Ward’s ponytail comes on the heels of the release of Season 2 of Netflix’s “America’s Sweethearts” last month, which explores the rigid rules that the DCC squad must follow, including makeup and hair guidelines.
