Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman gave one of the top performances of the night Monday on the premiere episode of “Dancing with the Stars: Athletes.”
Norman and his dance partner, Sharna Burgess, danced a cha cha to “Finesse” by Bruno Mars and received a combined judges’ score of 24 out of 30. Judge Bruno Tonioli called Norman “the one to watch” in the athletes-only season of the long-running dance competition program.
Norman and seven other athletes advanced, while former Major League Baseball outfielder Johnny Damon and snowboarder Jamie Anderson were voted out on night one.
Past and present NFL players have a tradition of performing well on “Dancing with the Stars.” Jerry Rice placed second in the show’s second season, and Emmitt Smith, Hines Ward, Donald Driver and Rashad Jennings have won the competition since then.
Also among the contestants advancing to next week is 71-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who earned a judges’ score of 17 for his routine while towering at least 18 inches over everyone else on the floor.
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