“You wouldn’t think you’d have this in Minneapolis, the honest to God’s truth,” Conn said.
There’s nothing original about the abuse. Louie’s been bullied before, going back to middle school. After snagging a spot on the dance team at Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, Iowa, he declined his placement because of the homophobic remarks hurled his way. But girls on the team encouraged him to try out the following year. He gathered his courage and followed their advice, soon becoming the high school’s first male dancer, according to the school news site, the Spartan Shield.
“He’s got more bravery in his little finger than most people,” Conn tells me.
She recalls that when his Iowa State dance team traveled to Florida last spring for the college nationals, Louie was practicing a flip when his leg caught the broadside of a couch, splitting his knee wide open. In the ER, doctors told him he wasn’t going to dance at nationals. “And he said, ‘Oh yes, I will,’ ” Conn recalls.
Louie did, blood oozing through his bandage during the final routine, and the team won a national title. The very next week, Louie arrived in Minneapolis to try out for the Vikings squad.
Kathleen Conn and her son Louie after the final Minnesota Vikings cheerleading tryout in April 2025 at the Mall of America. (Kathleen Conn)
Louie didn’t respond to my requests for interviews. Kimberly Munn, his former dance teacher in Iowa, said it’s been painful to see bullies disparage Louie online. It’s reminiscent of the small-minded negativity he had to overcome while growing up.