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Former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and associate choreographer Shelly Bramhall did not mince words after her daughter, Daytonwas cut from the iconic NFL squad for a third time.
Shelly, a member of the DCC class of 1989, struggled to understand how her longtime friend, DCC director Kelli in Finglascould overlook Dayton again, this time cutting her from the 2025 team before even making it to training camp.
“No, I’m not okay,” Shelly can be heard saying during season 3 of Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. “She did everything they asked her to do. You take strangers that you don’t know and you can’t even give someone you held in the hospital a chance.”
Shelly, who broke down sobbing after her daughter was eliminated from tryouts, later argued that “being a legacy is tainted.”
While dancing for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is considered a prestigious honor in itself, it doesn’t come with a salary to match. “I would say I’m making, like, a substitute teacher [salary],” Kat Puryear said during the first season of Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. “I would say I’m making, like, [the same as […]
“It’s complicated,” Finglass, 61, said of the decision. “But the judges were consistent. I can sleep at night because I know we gave her every opportunity and she did herself, too. She’s worked hard. It’s just sad that it didn’t work out.”
Finglass added, “Dayton is a beautiful girl and she’s a beautiful dancer. The power and the ability to captivate and excite and ignite the space in which she’s dancing, I don’t think that’s her style of dance.”
DCC choreographer Judy Trammell called the decision to cut Dayton for a third time “one of the hardest things in my career.”
“I would not have wanted Dayton to have had to go through another training camp and be cut again,” Trammell, 68, explained. Letting her go at finals was probably the best thing for her. She’s just stressed over this so much and I hate that for her that we couldn’t make her dream come true. We couldn’t help her fulfill it.”
The dream to one day cheer for “America’s Team” appeared to be over for Dayton after this year’s tryout results, telling friends, “I think I’m done.”
Ahead of Dayton’s audition, Shelly acknowledged that Dayton’s DCC journey had taken “a toll” on her daughter.
As the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders fought for changes to their contracts on season 2 of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, longtime choreographer Judy Trammell raised eyebrows for a comment she made about the women balancing their cheerleading career — which now often includes and influencing — while working outside and sometimes multiple jobs. DCC Amanda […]
“She decided last year that she was going to take some time after being released to figure out if she wanted to put herself through it again,” she explained. “When she made up her mind, our entire family just kind of got behind her. We’ve just been encouraging her the entire time.”
An optimistic Dayton said she felt “more confident this year” before taking the floor to a routine set to Whitney Houston’s “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.”
“I feel more myself, more grown up,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’m trying to cut and paste into a different mold. I’m just being me, and that’s making it a whole lot easier to get through this round. I’m so happy to be here and happy to get another chance.”
Season 3 of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is available to stream now.
