One of the supporters of former National Football League player Colin Kaepernick is Abdul El-Sayed. Recently, the latter appeared on the Fox News show “Jesse Watters Primetime”.
Born in Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States, El-Sayed turned 41 on October 31, 2025. He is currently a Michigan Senate candidate.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, Kaepernick turned 38 on November 3, 2025. Recently, he was honored by the Muhammad Ali Center, a non-profit museum and cultural center in Louisville, Kentucky, USA dedicated to its eponymous boxer.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Jesse Watters turned 48 on July 9, 2026. He hosts “Jesse Watters Primetime”, which premiered on Fox News on November 21, 2015.
Abdul El-Sayed and Jesse Watters
El-Sayed recently found himself under strict public scrutiny on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” where the host aggressively questioned his past remarks characterizing the NFL as fundamentally racist, misogynistic, and promoting a toxic bro culture. When pressed directly to defend these explosive claims on live television, the progressive Michigan Senate candidate completely avoided answering the core accusation, instead pivoting the discussion toward the rising costs of stadium tickets and arguing that skyrocketing prices have priced working-class families out of attending professional games.
Although El-Sayed bypassed the direct question regarding the league’s racial climate, he maintained his vocal support for Kaepernick, asserting that the former quarterback was unjustly deprived of several productive years in his career. The heated exchange underscored how sports-related controversies continue to ripple through the political landscape, drawing sharp contrasts between elite athletic environments and everyday consumer struggles.
“I think for Colin Kaepernick, (it) is sick,” El-Sayed said. “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.”
“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,” El-Sayed continued. “It’s astronomical through the roof now. I think football used to be the kind of thing that you could enjoy with people talking about football. I want to talk about access to football.”
The television debate highlighted the complex intersections of sports, culture, and high-stakes political campaigning as candidates navigate past statements on public platforms while seeking broader voter appeal across Michigan during the active election season. Additional commentary noted that political figures wading into athletic institution debates often face immediate pushback from media hosts, intensifying public interest in how candidates reconcile past social critiques with broader electoral strategies.
Colin Kaepernick and the Muhammad Ali Center
While Kaepernick’s polarizing legacy remains a constant talking point in high-stakes political circles, his ongoing civil rights and philanthropic efforts have simultaneously earned him major global recognition. The Muhammad Ali Center officially named him its Humanitarian of the Year, a prestigious distinction arriving a full decade after he first sparked a massive nationwide cultural movement by kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice and systemic police brutality.
Lonnie Ali, co-founder and president of the center, praised Kaepernick for his unwavering courage in leveraging his immense public platform to advocate for human dignity and equality despite facing steep professional and personal sacrifices. Through impactful initiatives like the Know Your Rights Camp, the NFL alum continues to focus heavily on educating and empowering underserved youth across the nation.
Accepting the extraordinary honor, Kaepernick reflected on the deep parallels between his own trajectory and the enduring legacy of Ali. The Milwaukee natived noted that the late boxer famously stood firmly by his convictions despite facing severe public backlash and personal consequences.
CONAN Daily 