A Michigan political nominee stated that football is toxic masculinity.
Posted by The Michael Berry Show, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
The Michael Berry ShowAug 18, 2026
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed wrote in a 2021 Substack post that the 'toxic masculinity at the heart of America's most popular sport' is deep, which multiple outlets quote, so the claim that he called football toxic masculinity is supported.
The host disputes this claim, but we rate it true. Disputing it counts against the post, like a false claim.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… These are the people who wake up and say, we shouldn't have Thanksgiving. It upsets people. Nobody was thinking to themselves, should we have Thanksgiving or not? These are the people who say we should cancel Thanksgiving. Who comes up with this craziness? Their nominee in Michigan says that football is toxic, is toxic male, is toxic masculine culture, toxic masculinity. Couldn't think of the word. Who comes up with this stuff? Who sits around thinking of this stuff? Listen to this: We weren't chasing crazy culture wars. We weren't grandstanding on issues. We were actually solving problems, and so I've seen this work. …
The Michael Berry Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The Daily Wire and AOL both quote El-Sayed's 2021 Substack post saying 'the toxic masculinity at the heart of America's most popular sport' runs deeper than the Jon Gruden emails.[2][3]
Supports. Yahoo and Nebraska TV/ABC45 report that El-Sayed criticized the role football plays in 'toxic masculinity,' and Washington Examiner reports Rogers mocking his old comment calling football a sport of 'toxic masculinity.'[4][5][6][7]
Context. Nebraska TV notes El-Sayed has since softened those stances, which does not change whether he made the statement in 2021.[5]
Context. The AP and Bridge Michigan pieces discuss El-Sayed's masculinity rhetoric but do not directly quote the football remark, and the extracted claim is a faithful paraphrase of the passage.[1][8]
Sources
8 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 tier 3, 6 not rated
- 1Macho, macho men? Democrats talk masculinity on campaign trail after years of Trump's bravadoapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Abdul El-Sayed Hates Football Too - The Daily Wiredailywire.com · tier 3 · cited for: supports
- 3Democratic US Senate Nominee Abdul El-Sayed Claims 'Toxic Masculinity' At Heart Of Football - AOLaol.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4El-Sayed dares GOP rival to no-pads football showdown as Senate ...yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Michigan Democrat El-Sayed challenges GOP opponent to ...nebraska.tv · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 6Michigan Democrat El-Sayed challenges GOP opponent to no-pad ...abc45.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7'Knowing my Midwestern sports': How politicians are using sports in 2026 to build themselves up and connect with voterswashingtonexaminer.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 8Macho, macho men? El-Sayed, Rogers spar over ‘beta energy,' footballbridgemi.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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