El-Sayed’s Transgender Sports Answer Draws Election-Eve Criticism
Asked how schools should handle transgender students on sports teams and conflicts between rights, El-Sayed said he did not see the issue as a genuine conflict and argued that such disputes are manufactured. He pointed to children’s access to information through smartphones, saying parents should talk with their children about what they encounter rather than try to shield them from it.
El-Sayed also said cultural disputes over sports distract from concerns such as the cost of groceries and gas, access to health care and children’s futures. He said his campaign was not about setting sports policy and described eligibility questions as matters for sports governing bodies. In the exchange, he did not specify what rules those bodies should adopt or whether he supports federal restrictions on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports.
Rogers shared a clip of the interview on X and said El-Sayed was endorsing males in girls’ locker rooms. El-Sayed did not use that wording in the interview. The post drew widespread criticism online, and an organization led by former Olympic cyclist Inga Thompson criticized his response.
The candidates have previously taken different positions. In a 2018 interview, El-Sayed backed access to bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams consistent with young people’s gender identity. Rogers has supported legislation to preserve female sports opportunities and private spaces. The Michigan Senate election is on November 3.
El-Sayed Keeps Focus on Costs as Rogers Seizes on Sports Remarks
Abdul El-Sayed used a 60 Minutes interview aired on November 1 to argue that disputes over transgender students in sports are manufactured and that children cannot be shielded from ideas simply because parents object to them. Parents, he said, should guide children through what they encounter online.
The Michigan Democratic Senate nominee also said arguments over who can play which sports divert attention from gas and grocery costs, health care and families’ hopes for their children. He said his campaign was not about setting sports policy and left eligibility questions to sports governing bodies, without stating what rules he would support.
Republican Mike Rogers turned the exchange into an election-eve attack, posting a clip and claiming El-Sayed had said males should be allowed in girls’ locker rooms. El-Sayed did not say those words in the interview. Critics amplified the clip, while Rogers has previously backed legislation to protect female sports opportunities and private spaces.
El-Sayed’s 2018 position was that young people should have access to bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The contrast is real, but Rogers’s framing collapses a discussion of children, online information and sports governance into a claim El-Sayed did not explicitly make. Michigan voters decide the Senate race on November 3.
El-Sayed Dismisses Girls’ Sports Dispute as Rogers Sounds Alarm
When asked about transgender students on sports teams and conflicts between rights, Abdul El-Sayed said the conflict was not real and that society manufactures such issues. He then argued that smartphones already expose children to information parents may find objectionable, and said parents should coach children rather than try to protect them from seeing it.
That answer does not address the practical question of eligibility rules for girls’ and women’s sports. El-Sayed said his campaign was not about setting sports policy, but did not explain what rules he would support or whether he favors federal restrictions on transgender athletes. He also cast cultural disputes as distractions from the cost of living and access to health care.
Republican Mike Rogers seized on the interview, posting a clip and saying El-Sayed considers it acceptable for males to be in girls’ locker rooms. El-Sayed did not use those words. Still, his response, which treated school policy and online exposure in the same discussion, gave Rogers a clear opening to put girls’ sports and privacy at the center of the campaign.
The candidates have sharply different records on the question. El-Sayed said in a 2018 interview that government should protect young people’s access to facilities and teams matching their gender identity. Rogers has backed legislation preserving female sports opportunities and private spaces. The Michigan Senate election is on November 3.
Reported by The Daily Wire, Fox News, Townhall, Twitchy, Daily Mail US, New York Post, Hot Air, Breitbart, The Daily Caller.
