Michigan's El-Sayed Faces Backlash Over 2023 Football Ethics Remarks as 2021 Toxic Masculinity Post Resurfaces
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 28
Michigan's El-Sayed Faces Backlash Over 2023 Football Ethics Remarks as 2021 Toxic Masculinity Post Resurfaces
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 28
Summary
A 2023 podcast clip reposted Monday by Michigan Republicans put Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed under fresh criticism for asking whether football can be “ethical” or “safe.”
El-Sayed tied the sport to CTE risks, violence and “toxic masculinity,” asking what would need to change in “this brutal sport” for it to be acceptable.
The attack gained force because it echoed a 2021 post in which he said toxic masculinity sits at the heart of America’s most popular sport and men’s sports culture more broadly.
The resurfaced remarks cut against El-Sayed’s own biography and current outreach: he played football, captained his high school team, recently criticized NFL ticket costs, and has tried to appeal to male voters with pro-masculinity and fitness messaging.