• GOP US Senate candidate Mike Rogers is blasting opponent Abdul El-Sayed for past negative comments on football, fireworks
  • El-Sayed, a former health official and podcaster, in both cases cited possible health harms such as brain damage or air quality issues
  • A clip from a documentary on El-Sayed’s 2018 run for governor about Mackinac Island has also come under scrutiny in recent days

As they seek to portray him as out of touch with mainstream voters, Republicans contend progressive Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed hates many of the things most Michiganders love. 

El-Sayed is advocating for “doing away with our fireworks, football, the Fourth of July,” Republican candidate Mike Rogers alleged in a recent Fox News interview. “This guy spent hours hating on what most Michiganders would enjoy in their pastimes, and he should be held to account for that.”

El-Sayed, who played football at Andover High School in the Bloomfield Hills district, responded to Rogers in a social media post: 

“Since you’re too afraid to debate me, how about you ‘hold me accountable’ on a football field instead,” he wrote. “Tackle, no pads like we used to play when we were kids. I’d be happy to show you (how) much I love football.”

The back-and-forth began almost immediately after the Aug. 4 primary, when video surfaced of El-Sayed saying, “I hate Mackinac so much” as he walked on the island during his 2018 run for governor. 

As a former podcaster and public health official, El-Sayed has discussed whether football is “ethical” and why “fireworks suck” for public health. CNN first reported on those clips, some of which were deleted. 

Related: 

But Republicans have taken some of El-Sayed’s comments out of context, and his campaign says they don’t reflect his current views. 

“It’s odd that in a race for US Senate, Mike Rogers and MAGA think their best line of attack is to claim that former high school football captain and lifelong Michigan and Lions football fan Abdul El-Sayed ‘hates football,’” spokesperson Roxie Richner said. 

“It’s because they don’t want to have a conversation about the issues Michiganders are actually facing—unaffordable groceries and gas, AI data centers in their backyard and the fear of medical debt if they get sick.” 

Here’s what El-Sayed actually said:

Football

The football comments that El-Sayed’s critics are referencing stem from a February 2023 episode of his “America Dissected” podcast in which he and a sports radio host discussed the long-term consequences of the sport, including brain damage like chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other severe injuries. 

The show followed the January 2023 injury of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who had suffered a cardiac arrest on the field after taking a hit to the chest. 

Noting he was a former high school player himself, El-Sayed began the episode with a caveat: “I love football, but I hate having to admit that.” He credited football with giving him “some of the most wholesome lessons of my life” but argued that “there’s something rotten at the heart of the sport” in its brutality. 

“We watch young men destroy their bodies for entertainment,” he said before posing the question, “Is there a version of football that’s actually ethical, safe? What would need to change?” 

He added: “This is a subject that inspires a lot of contradictory feelings, and we don’t really get to a single, neat and tidy answer. But the conversation helped me frame my own feelings about the sport.” 

Republicans have used the comments to paint a broader narrative. 

“El-Sayed hates everything that is good and true about America,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Hunter Lovell said. Rogers took it a step further, warning that El-Sayed advocates for “doing away” with football altogether. 

But El-Sayed did not advocate for doing away with football, and his campaign has touted his connection to the sport, even before the recent controversy.

Throwback photos posted by the campaign in March show El-Sayed in football gear. He “captained his high school football, wrestling and lacrosse teams — and is a Lions fan, through and through,” the post said.

A separate December 2025 campaign video shows El-Sayed playing football.

Fireworks and the Fourth of July

Among the old clips highlighted by El-Sayed’s critics: A since-deleted video explaining “why fireworks suck” from a public health perspective. It was titled, “Can we PLEASE find another way to celebrate July 4th? Four reasons why fireworks suck” and included a chapter called “Fireworks just aren’t worth it: hear us out.”

El-Sayed, who was serving as Wayne County’s public health director at the time, posted the video in the aftermath of 2024 Fourth of July celebrations.

It “explains what fireworks are made of, why exploding them over large bodies of water might not be the best idea, and the several safety risks they bring,” according to a description of the since-deleted video. 

While the clip is no longer online, chapter headings and descriptions published by CNN show El-Sayed discussed the city of Detroit’s poor air quality after July 4th celebrations, how the loud noises can trigger post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans and risks to children and pets. 

In his recent Fox News interview, Rogers suggested El-Sayed deleted old videos like the fireworks clip because “if people knew who he really was, they wouldn’t vote for him.” 

“These are views that he held that he was pretty strong about, but he knew that he had to delete them all,” he said. 

El-Sayed’s campaign has said the videos aren’t indicative of his current views, telling CNN he “celebrates the Fourth of July with fireworks like the next Michigander.”

The campaign pointed to a July 2025 social media post in which El-Sayed told followers: “Happy Fourth of July, Michigan! Enjoy the fireworks as we commit ourselves to building a country where all of us can thrive.”

Mackinac Island 

El-Sayed’s comments about Mackinac Island come from a 2020 documentary on his 2018 run for governor and were recently resurfaced by The Midwesterner, a conservative news site founded by Kyle Olson, a longtime associate of former Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon. 

In a brief clip circulated on social media, El-Sayed is shown saying “I hate Mackinac so much” while walking on the island with campaign staff.

He also alludes to the governor’s summer residence on Mackinac Island: “It’s funny cause, like, if we win, this is gonna be, like, the summer home…every time I’ve ever come here, I’ve hated it. Why am I here?”

The clip went viral as Republicans defended the popular tourism spot. Rogers posted images of himself on the island with his wife, Republican gubernatorial nominee John James began selling pro-Mackinac T-shirts and Kid Rock slammed El-Sayed on Fox News. 

Responding to criticism from Kid Rock and Rogers, El-Sayed wrote on social media: “Both of these multimillionaires can afford a weekend on Mackinac Island. How about you and your family?”

El-Sayed’s campaign has said his 2018 comments weren’t about the island itself, but rather the Mackinac Policy Conference, an annual gathering of politicians and business leaders. 

El-Sayed’s distaste for the Mackinac Policy Conference is no secret. In an interview at the 2026 conference, he told Bridge Michigan it is “not my cup of tea” and “for the most part, not where I do business.” 

“I don’t do the ‘sit with corporate lobbyists’ thing,” he said at the time, noting he attended to participate in a US Senate primary debate.

The bottom line

El-Sayed did criticize fireworks, football and Mackinac Island prior to his run for US Senate, but he never advocated for “doing away” with those activities, as Rogers and other Republicans have claimed. Some of the attacks have taken El-Sayed’s comments out of context. 

Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under our Republication Guidelines. Questions? Email republishing@bridgemi.com