Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed said he was “not running to govern sports” when asked about transgender athletes during a “60 Minutes” interview, suggesting that the issue is manufactured.
“And instead, we’re out here talking about who gets to play what sport, which, you know, should be the question of the people who govern sports. I’m not running to govern sports, right?” El-Sayed told correspondent Ross Douthat during the interview.
The discussion came as Douthat asked a broader question about parental control over education and tensions between some Muslim voters and cultural liberalism. His examples included what schools teach and transgender students’ participation on sports teams.
“Like these are places where rights are in conflict,” Douthat said before asking how those disagreements should be resolved.
“I don’t know that that’s actually true,” El-Sayed responded. “I think we manufacture these social issues because here’s the thing about it, Ross. You have an iPhone in your pocket probably or is it an iPhone or a Samsung?”
El-Sayed went on to argue that smartphones and the internet make it unrealistic for parents to prevent children from encountering ideas they find objectionable. He said parents should explain their beliefs and help children navigate what they encounter.
“I think it’s really important for us to recognize that the free flow of information is actually a beautiful thing,” he said.
He then returned to sports while accusing people who emphasize cultural disputes of diverting attention from economic problems.
“A lot of the cultural war issues that get fought right now are about trying to distract us from the fact that we can’t afford our gas, can’t afford our groceries, can’t see a doctor, are worried about whether or not our kids are going to have a good life,” he said.
El-Sayed did not specify in the exchange which eligibility rules he believes sports organizations should adopt, or whether he would support federal legislation restricting transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ and women’s sports.
CBS released extended candidate interviews alongside its Sunday broadcast. El-Sayed faces Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in Tuesday’s election for the Michigan Senate seat held by retiring Democrat Gary Peters.
Rogers posted a clip of El-Sayed’s answer on the topic on X, which prompted widespread viral criticism against the Democrat.
The candidates have previously taken sharply different positions on transgender participation in female sports.
During his 2024 Senate campaign, Rogers signed Independent Women’s Voice’s Stand With Women Commitment, promising to support legislation preserving female opportunities and private spaces.
“Biological men should not be competing with our daughters, period,” Rogers said at the time.
Rogers also made the issue part of an Aug. 28 campaign advertisement this year, released with the National Republican Senatorial Committee as part of what his campaign described as a coordinated seven-figure advertising buy.
“Abdul thinks football is bad, but men playing in women’s sports is good,” Rogers said in the ad.
El-Sayed previously advocated government action to protect transgender students’ access to sports teams matching their gender identity.
In a March 2018 interview during his campaign for Michigan governor, Pride Source asked whether he would fight at the state level for students’ access to bathrooms, athletic facilities and teams consistent with their gender identity. El-Sayed said the state should “protect access to bathrooms, to locker rooms, to sports teams of choice for young people.”
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He argued that exclusion could compound bullying and mental-health problems for transgender students, and that government had a responsibility to protect them.
The dispute has also produced federal investigations and litigation in Michigan.
The U.S. Education Department announced June 18 that it was opening Title IX investigations into Ann Arbor Public Schools, Monroe Public Schools and Chippewa Valley School District over allegations concerning athletic participation and locker-room access based on gender identity. The announcement opened investigations; it did not establish that the districts had violated the law.
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In October, Monroe volleyball player Briley Lechner and her father sued Monroe Public Schools, the Michigan High School Athletic Association and district officials. Their attorneys allege school officials concealed an opposing transgender player’s participation and allowed the teams to share locker-room facilities.
Monroe’s superintendent said in April that an independent investigation found the district’s Title IX allegations unsubstantiated.
On Oct. 13, Monroe’s school board voted 5-2 to restrict girls’ sports and girls’ locker rooms to biological females, CBS Detroit reported.
At the college level, the NCAA changed its policy in February 2025 following President Donald Trump’s executive order on women’s sports. Its rules prohibit athletes assigned male at birth from competing on women’s teams, while permitting them to practice with those teams.
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Sports eligibility has also been the subject of Senate votes. On March 3, 2025, a motion to advance the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act received 51 votes in favor and 45 against, falling short of the three-fifths threshold required. The legislation would define sex for Title IX athletics compliance according to reproductive biology and genetics at birth.
