Abdul El-Sayed Hates Football Too

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed criticized football as a breeding ground for “toxic masculinity” — and praised European soccer as a more egalitarian alternative — according to resurfaced writings from the far-Left candidate.

El-Sayed made the comments in a 2021 Substack post responding to the resignation of then-Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, whose private emails containing racist and misogynistic language had become public.

“The toxic masculinity at the heart of America’s most popular sport — and men’s sports culture more generally — is way deeper than a few emails …” El-Sayed wrote.

The remarks are the latest resurfaced comments to draw attention to El-Sayed’s views on Michigan and American culture as he prepares for a general election campaign against Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers.

El-Sayed played American football himself as a student at Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills, serving as a team captain and two-year starter at center and nose guard.

In his 2021 post, El-Sayed recalled football as an important part of his childhood, writing that “sports were my lifeline” and that he felt free on the football field. But he described the culture surrounding the sport in considerably harsher terms. He argued that a particular “bro” culture had been passed down through football for generations. “Racism, misogyny, and homophobia were lingua franca,” El-Sayed wrote.

El-Sayed contrasted that culture with the fictional soccer coach Ted Lasso, the title character of the Apple TV+ series, who he held up as an example of a healthier model of masculinity and coaching. “Ted cries. He talks through his problems. He encourages his players. He bakes biscuits (er, cookies) for his boss. He smiles … like, all the time,” El-Sayed wrote.

He argued that coaches should create an environment built around “positive, inclusive, and empowering values,” while acknowledging that sports can teach young people lessons about teamwork, perseverance, and discipline. “Sport is a metaphor for life,” he wrote.

El-Sayed also expressed a distinctly political preference for European soccer in another 2021 Substack post, writing that the sport’s promotion and relegation system “speaks to my politics.”

“But European soccer also speaks to my politics,” El-Sayed wrote. “Compared to American sports leagues, the sport is also deeply egalitarian.”

He praised the system for allowing teams to move between leagues based on performance and contrasted it with American professional sports, where teams remain in closed leagues regardless of their success. El-Sayed’s criticism of football comes as other resurfaced remarks have placed renewed attention on his sometimes-negative assessments of his home state.

During his unsuccessful 2018 campaign for governor, El-Sayed was recorded complaining about Mackinac Island, one of Michigan’s most prominent tourist destinations.

“I hate Mackinac so much,” El-Sayed said in a documentary about his campaign. “Every time I’ve ever come here I’ve hated it. Why am I here?”

El-Sayed went on to joke that if he won the governor’s race, Mackinac Island would become his summer home.

His comments have only made it easier for Republicans to portray El-Sayed as disconnected from Michigan voters. Rogers has already made appeals directly to Democrats who may be uncomfortable with El-Sayed’s far-Left politics.

El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in last week’s Democratic Senate primary, winning 48.5% of the vote to Stevens’ 47.5%. His campaign was backed by a number of far-Left figures including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

Democratic leaders who backed Stevens during the primary, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), have since fallen in line behind El-Sayed as the party’s nominee.

El-Sayed will face Rogers in November in a race that could help determine control of the Senate. The Republican nominee has already sought to make the race a referendum on the direction of the Democratic Party, arguing that El-Sayed represents an increasingly leftward movement within the party.

His past writings now provide another window into the political and cultural views of the Democratic nominee — including his longstanding preference for soccer over the sport beloved by millions of Americans every fall.