Following Donald Trump’s US election win, his signature dance move has increasingly been wheeled out by sporting stars.

Trump has been filmed wiggling his hips and pumping his fists to music at his rallies for several years, and his recent victory seems to have spurred athletes to copy his shimmy when celebrating their own wins.

NFL’s San Francisco 49ers player – and vocal Trump supporter – Nick Bosa has been credited with starting the trend while celebrating in a game against Tampa Bay on November 10.

NICK BOSA WITH A SACK AND THEN IMMEDIATELY DOES THE DONALD TRUMP DANCE CELEBRATION.

MAGA BOSA 😭pic.twitter.com/XWnLIaTvNz

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) November 10, 2024

Since then, athletes in sports ranging from football to boxing have also performed celebratory a ‘Trump dance’, including:

• Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Jon Jones
• NFL players Za’Darius Smith and Malcolm Rodriguez
• NFL player Brock Bowers
• NFL players Calvin Ridley and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
• English golfer Charley Hull 
• English soccer players
• US men’s soccer players Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi.

Christian Pulisic just did the Trump dance after scoring a goal 😭 pic.twitter.com/N1mlGPs9o5

— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) November 19, 2024

Some athletes, such as Pulisic, insisted their choice of dance move were not political endorsements.

“It was just a dance that everyone’s doing. [Trump’s] the one who created it. I just thought it was funny,” Pulisic told The Athletic.

“It’s not a political dance. It was just for fun.

“I saw a bunch of people do it and I thought it was funny, so I enjoyed it. I hope some people did, at least.”

But for many, including Bosa, performing the Trump dance in front of thousands in person and on TV is very much a political statement.

“I think you know the answer to that question,” Bosa responded when asked what inspired him to do the Trump dance, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

“All the guys wanted me to do it. I wasn’t even going to do it, but the boys reminded me. And it was fun.”

Bosa performed the dance just after being fined $US11,255 ($17,244) for wearing a Trump-inspired ‘Make America Great Again’ hat during a post-game interview. He later said it was “worth it”.

NFL players are not allowed to display a personal message or non-sponsored branding on game days when visible at a stadium or for a TV audience.

Following Bosa’s on-field Trump dance, an NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Front Office Sports the organisation had “no issue” with players doing the dance, and it was up to networks “to cover them as they see fit”.

Former Chicago Bears player Brian Urlacher told Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime ‘‘silent Trump supporters’’ felt emboldened after his election victory.

“People were scared for a while. You don’t want people to talk bad about you, how we’ve been talked about the last four years if you’re a Donald Trump supporter,” he said.

“I think now, no one’s scared any more.”