Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic nominee for Michigan Senate, mocked Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, on social media after Portnoy called him a "terrorist" following a joke about Michigan's football program cheating. The dispute arose from the NCAA's recent penalties against Michigan for various violations related to its football and basketball programs. El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, supported Portnoy's comments, while El-Sayed faced criticism over his responses regarding Iran’s regime during a town hall meeting.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, mocked Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, over his physique after Portnoy called El-Sayed a "terrorist" for joking about Michigan's football program cheating. El-Sayed’s comment came after he quipped whether Michigan would win without cheating, referring to the school’s recent sign-stealing scandal that led to multimillion-dollar penalties and recruiting restrictions from the NCAA in August 2025.
Portnoy retaliated by calling El-Sayed a terrorist on social media. Mike Rogers, El-Sayed's Republican opponent for Senate, shared Portnoy’s tweet without explicitly endorsing his language. The exchange highlights the contentious nature of political discourse around sports scandals in Michigan.
Written for “Michigan Cheating Allegations Debate” on 2026-10-11,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed mocked Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy on Saturday, commenting on Portnoy's body and athleticism.
asserted
Sayed → mock → body
El-Sayed's comment came after Portnoy called the Democrat a "terrorist" over a joke about the Wolverines cheating.
"Meanwhile, here’s [Portnoy] committing an act of athletic terrorism.
asserted
Portnoy → come → terrorism
," El-Sayed wrote on X over a clip of Portnoy sprinting on a turf field.
asserted
Portnoy → write → field
The exchange followed a clip of El-Sayed, a University of Michigan graduate, joking about his alma mater’s football program.
asserted
Sayed → follow → program
"Is Michigan going to win a game without cheating?
asserted
Michigan → go → game
I say this as a Wolverine," El-Sayed said in a clip.
asserted
Sayed → say → clip
Portnoy responded, "This guy really is a terrorist."
asserted
guy → respond → ?
El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, shared Portnoy’s post and wrote that Portnoy "is exactly right."
asserted
Portnoy → share → post
Asked whether Rogers actually believed El-Sayed was a terrorist, Rogers spokeswoman Alyssa Brouillet told The Detroit News, "Parroting Ohio State talking points is a bridge too far."
asserted
Parroting → ask → points
El-Sayed’s football jab followed Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal.
asserted
jab → follow → scandal
In August 2025, the NCAA announced multimillion-dollar financial penalties, recruiting restrictions and four additional years of probation after finding an impermissible scouting scheme involving former staffer Connor Stalions.
asserted
NCAA → announce → Stalions
In 2024, its football program acknowledged impermissible recruiting contacts during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period, improper tryouts and unauthorized coaching by noncoaching staff.
asserted
program → acknowledge → staff
The NCAA separately found that former coach Jim Harbaugh provided false or misleading information to investigators.
asserted
Harbaugh → find → investigators
Under former coach Rich Rodriguez, Michigan received three years of probation in 2010 and a 130-hour reduction in practice time after violations involving excessive practice and training activities.
asserted
Michigan → receive → practice
The school’s basketball program also faced sanctions over improper loans from booster Ed Martin to four players, including Chris Webber, resulting in forfeited victories, scholarship reductions and four years of probation.
asserted
program → face → probation
The social media clash also comes as El-Sayed faces criticism over his responses to questions about Iran’s regime and Islamist organizations.
asserted
Sayed → come → regime
At a September town hall, Iranian-American student Iman Dashti described his family’s alleged mistreatment by Iranian authorities and pressed El-Sayed to condemn the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Islamic Republic.
asserted
Dashti → describe → Corps
El-Sayed responded by opposing American-led regime change and arguing that Iran’s people should determine their government, drawing criticism for avoiding a direct condemnation.
asserted
people → respond → condemnation
During an Oct. 5 interview, Fox News host Martha MacCallum repeatedly asked whether he supported terrorist designations for Muslim Brotherhood organizations in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
asserted
he → ask → Egypt
El-Sayed answered that he would support designating organizations engaged in political violence, without explicitly naming the Brotherhood in his responses.
asserted
he → answer → responses
Rogers renewed criticism of El-Sayed’s responses concerning terrorist groups during their Oct. 8 debate.
asserted
Rogers → renew → debate
El-Sayed also declined to identify Iran or Israel as the greater threat to the United States, saying both had proven dangerous in their own way.
asserted
both → decline → way
El-Sayed has, however, publicly condemned Hamas.
asserted
Sayed → condemn → Hamas
During an August appearance on "The Jim Acosta Show," he said, "I think they’re wrong.
asserted
they → say → Show
I think they committed war crimes," while also accusing Israel of war crimes and genocide.
asserted
they → think → crimes
El-Sayed has also criticized football’s culture, writing in an October 2021 essay that "toxic masculinity at the heart of America’s most popular sport" ran deeper than the emails that prompted then-Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s resignation.
asserted
that → criticize → resignation
Responding to Gruden’s racist, homophobic and misogynistic messages, El-Sayed recalled experiencing racist taunting in football locker rooms and argued that coaches needed to address the culture behind such behavior.
asserted
coaches → respond → behavior
The Aporia
