Socialist Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, 41, appeared on “Jesse Watters Primetime” to answer for his past shots at football and his claim that the NFL is racist.
When Watters pressed him to defend it, El-Sayed tried to dodge the question before he was eventually tackled.
El-Sayed, the progressive Senate candidate backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, previously blasted football for fostering “toxic masculinity,” “bro culture,” and “racism, misogyny, and homophobia.”
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He also branded the NFL fundamentally racist and insisted the grifting ex-QB Colin Kaepernick deserved more years in the league.
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed poses for a portrait in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Evan Cobb for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
It showed just how separated El-Sayed is from the common American.
He told Watters:
“Look, I think for Colin Kaepernick, I think he should have had several more years in the NFL. Now I think he’s a pretty damn good quarterback. I think, unfortunately, he lost a lot of time.
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“But the bigger question right now when it comes to football, look, I know you guys like to think I don’t like football, but I’m happy to line up against anybody who thinks that I don’t like football.
“And I’ll just tell you, the bigger issue that we have for football right now is, I looked at ticket prices to try and go and see a game with my family. It’s astronomical through the roof.
“Now, I think football used to be the kind of thing that you could enjoy with people… That’s gone for too many people. I want to talk about football. I want talk about access to football.”
About those old claims that the NFL is racist … Watters called out El-Sayed’s side-stepping of his old comments.
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“I asked you if you thought the NFL was racist because you said the NFL is racist and now you’re talking about ticket prices. The NFL is too expensive you don’t agree. All right, so you don’t think it’s racist anymore. I get it I’m glad you don’t think the NFL’s racist anymore.”
El-Sayed ran back the same play, which was to dodge.
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a primary election night event Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
“I’m just saying, most people can’t afford that. Bigger issue with the NFL, you won’t talk about the NFL. The bigger issue with NFL is too many people can afford it. You probably can, and I know that you’re in New York, so you have like two teams that play in the same place. So you get two options. But I’m saying that here in Michigan, we’ve got one team and most people can’t watch them in the stadium. And I’d like to make it more affordable.”
“All right, so you dodged, you dodgy again,” Watters responded.
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El-Sayed once had plenty to say when calling football toxic and racist.
Asked to defend those claims on live TV, the candidate chose to talk ticket prices instead.
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to supporters at an election-night rally at the Majestic Theatre on Aug. 4, 2026 in Detroit, Mich. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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