Jay Feely and Amish Shah election sets former Jets colleagues against each other
Amish Shah and Jay Feely won Arizona primaries and will meet in November after once working together on the Jets sideline.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
2 min read
A Jay Feely Amish Shah election matchup is set for November in Arizona, turning an old New York Jets sideline connection into a race for Congress.
Shah, an emergency physician, won the Democratic primary for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s report, which cited information from The Associated Press. Feely, a former NFL kicker, won the Republican primary for the same district on Tuesday.
That means the general election will feature two men who were once part of the same NFL operation, though in very different roles. Feely was kicking for the Jets during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Shah, according to his campaign, served on the Jets sideline as an airway management physician.
Why did Jay Feely and Amish Shah know each other?
Feely and Shah crossed paths during Feely’s two-season stint with the Jets, when Shah worked as a sideline doctor. Shah’s campaign says his role was airway management, a medical position focused on intubating and resuscitating a catastrophically injured player.
ESPN reported that each NFL game has an airway management doctor assigned for that kind of emergency. It is one of the behind-the-scenes medical jobs fans rarely notice unless the worst kind of play unfolds.
Feely acknowledged the connection Tuesday night, before it was clear which Democrat would emerge from the primary. “It’s an old relationship,” Feely said of Shah, according to ESPN. “But whoever it is, I want to do this the right way. I want to run this the right way.”
The football overlap gives the race an unusual sports-politics twist, but the matchup is now a straight general election contest for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. Voters will decide in November between Shah, the Democratic nominee, and Feely, the Republican nominee.
What is Jay Feely’s NFL background?
Feely played for six NFL franchises during his kicking career, according to ESPN. His stops included the New York Jets and a four-season run with the Arizona Cardinals.
That Arizona chapter adds another local tie to his congressional campaign. His campaign now moves from the Republican primary win into a head-to-head race against Shah.
Shah enters the fall campaign with a medical background highlighted by his work as an emergency physician and his former game-day role with the Jets, according to ESPN and Shah’s campaign. The two nominees now share a rare bit of NFL history as they compete for the same House seat.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.