Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed mocked Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy on Saturday, commenting on Portnoy’s body and athleticism.
El-Sayed’s comment came after Portnoy called the Democrat a “terrorist” over a joke about the Wolverines cheating.
“Meanwhile, here’s [Portnoy] committing an act of athletic terrorism. Less pizza, more gym, habibi,” El-Sayed wrote on X over a clip of Portnoy sprinting on a turf field.
EL-SAYED QUESTIONS ETHICS OF FOOTBALL IN RESURFACED AUDIO
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Nominating Convention in Lansing, Mich., on Aug. 29, 2026. (Anadolu via Getty Images)
The exchange followed a clip of El-Sayed, a University of Michigan graduate, joking about his alma mater’s football program.
“Is Michigan going to win a game without cheating? I say this as a Wolverine,” El-Sayed said in a clip.
Portnoy responded, “This guy really is a terrorist.” El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, shared Portnoy’s post and wrote that Portnoy “is exactly right.”
Asked whether Rogers actually believed El-Sayed was a terrorist, Rogers spokeswoman Alyssa Brouillet told The Detroit News, “Parroting Ohio State talking points is a bridge too far.”
El-Sayed’s football jab followed Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal.
In August 2025, the NCAA announced multimillion-dollar financial penalties, recruiting restrictions and four additional years of probation after finding an impermissible scouting scheme involving former staffer Connor Stalions.
In 2024, its football program acknowledged impermissible recruiting contacts during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period, improper tryouts and unauthorized coaching by noncoaching staff. The NCAA separately found that former coach Jim Harbaugh provided false or misleading information to investigators.
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Under former coach Rich Rodriguez, Michigan received three years of probation in 2010 and a 130-hour reduction in practice time after violations involving excessive practice and training activities. The school’s basketball program also faced sanctions over improper loans from booster Ed Martin to four players, including Chris Webber, resulting in forfeited victories, scholarship reductions and four years of probation.
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed questioned the ethics of football in a resurfaced audio clip posted online Monday by the Republican Party. (Abdul El-Sayed)
The social media clash also comes as El-Sayed faces criticism over his responses to questions about Iran’s regime and Islamist organizations.
At a September town hall, Iranian-American student Iman Dashti described his family’s alleged mistreatment by Iranian authorities and pressed El-Sayed to condemn the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Islamic Republic. El-Sayed responded by opposing American-led regime change and arguing that Iran’s people should determine their government, drawing criticism for avoiding a direct condemnation.
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During an Oct. 5 interview, Fox News host Martha MacCallum repeatedly asked whether he supported terrorist designations for Muslim Brotherhood organizations in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. El-Sayed answered that he would support designating organizations engaged in political violence, without explicitly naming the Brotherhood in his responses.
Rogers renewed criticism of El-Sayed’s responses concerning terrorist groups during their Oct. 8 debate. El-Sayed also declined to identify Iran or Israel as the greater threat to the United States, saying both had proven dangerous in their own way.
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El-Sayed has, however, publicly condemned Hamas. During an August appearance on “The Jim Acosta Show,” he said, “I think they’re wrong. I think they committed war crimes,” while also accusing Israel of war crimes and genocide.
El-Sayed has also criticized football’s culture, writing in an October 2021 essay that “toxic masculinity at the heart of America’s most popular sport” ran deeper than the emails that prompted then-Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s resignation.
Responding to Gruden’s racist, homophobic and misogynistic messages, El-Sayed recalled experiencing racist taunting in football locker rooms and argued that coaches needed to address the culture behind such behavior.