The Anti-Kaepernick: Former NFL Great Burgess Owens Flips Utah House Seat to GOP

Burgess Owens
Getty Images/Zach Gibson

Utah Democrat Ben McAdams has conceded his re-election bid to former NFL player Burgess Owens. McAdams was the only Democrat in Utah’s congressional delegation.

Owens becomes the twelfth Republican to take a seat away from a Democrat in the 2020 election cycle.

The NFL great noted that he received a call from the Democrat conceding the election. “I received a call from Ben McAdams, he expressed appreciation for the opportunity to serve #UT04 and his commitment to a smooth transition. My sincere thanks to him for both. Thank you, my fellow Utahns, I am committed to have an open ear to serve you. Thank you for the opportunity,” Owns said on Twitter.

Owens, who joined the New York Jets in 1973 and moved to the Raiders in 1980 before ending his career in 1982, has been speaking out about politics for years. But he has also criticized the “career politicians” filling Congress.

The one-time Super Bowl champion has also leveled criticism at the NFL to turn to ant-American ism, and its bow to the Black Lives Matter agenda.

Burgess, for instance, blasted the NFL for indulging leftist players by airing the so-called “black national anthem” before games. Owens slammed the decision saying “there is no black national anthem.”

He was also a prominent voice critical of national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick. Several months ago, Burgess took a shot at those claiming that the NFL owed Kaepernick a job. He wondered aloud why “we’re looking at affirmative action for a Marxist.”

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