Burgess Owens

Clarence Burgess Owens (born August 2, 1951) is an American politician, nonprofit executive, and former professional football player serving as the U.S. representative for Utah's 4th congressional district since 2021.

Owens graduated from Rickards High School in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1969.

He was one of four African-American players who were integrated onto a football team at a historically white high school.

Owens was the third of four black athletes recruited to play at the University of Miami and the third black student to earn a scholarship.

He was named a First-team All-American defensive back, Most Valuable Defensive Player of the North–South All Star Game, and MVP of the Coaches All-American Game.

This was the Jets' only touchdown scored on a kickoff return during the 1970s.

He was a regular starter for the Jets for most of the 1970s, and was a part of the Raiders' 1980 Super Bowl XV championship team.

The New York Jets selected Owens with the 13th pick in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft.

During his rookie season, he returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown against the Denver Broncos.

He played safety for 10 seasons for the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders, winning a championship with the Raiders in Super Bowl XV in 1980.

Since leaving the NFL, Owens has founded several businesses and is the CEO of a nonprofit dedicated to helping troubled and incarcerated youth.

He was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall Of Fame in 1980, and its Orange Bowl "Ring of Honor" in 1999.

Owens earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology/Chemistry from the University of Miami.

In 1983, Owens moved to New York City.

Shortly after leaving professional football, he and his brother ran a business that sold electronics to other businesses to track business expenses.

The venture failed and Owens eventually declared bankruptcy.

Owens later relocated to a small apartment in Brooklyn, where he worked as a chimney sweep and security guard.

He later moved to Philadelphia, where he took a sales job with WordPerfect.

In later years he was an account executive with Sprint and Motorola, and from 2009 to 2013 he owned a business called Pure and Simple Solutions.

He is a founder, board member, and CEO of Second Chance 4 Youth, founded in 2019, a nonprofit dedicated to helping troubled and incarcerated youth.

Owens has been a frequent guest contributor at Fox News.

In November 2019, Owens announced that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Utah's 4th congressional district.

He was one of four candidates in the Republican primary.

On June 30, Owens won the primary with 43% of the vote, defeating Utah State Representative Kim Coleman by 20 points.

He also defeated challengers KSL radio personality Jay McFarland and businessman Trent Christensen.

A Republican, Owens was first elected to Congress in 2020, when he narrowly defeated incumbent Democrat Ben McAdams in the 2020 election.

Owens is one of four black Republicans in the House of Representatives.

Owens was born in Columbus, Ohio, where his Texas-born father had come to do graduate studies he could not complete in Texas due to Jim Crow laws.

The family later moved to Tallahassee, Florida, where Owens's father taught as a college professor.

Owens was raised in a Baptist home.

Owens was a speaker at the 2020 Republican National Convention.

Owens faced Democratic incumbent Ben McAdams in the general election.

On November 14, eleven days after the election and with 99% of precincts reporting, President Donald Trump and Utah U.S. Senator Mike Lee congratulated Owens on winning the election, based upon Breitbart News calling it for Owens.

McAdams conceded to Owens on November 16 and the Associated Press called the race for Owens.

Owens won the Republican primary with 61.9% of the vote against challenger Jake Hunsaker.

In the general election he defeated Democratic nominee Darlene McDonald and United Utah Party nominee January Walker, running with the endorsement of the Forward Party.

In late 2020, Owens was identified as a participant in the "Freedom Force", a group of incoming Republican members of the House of Representatives who oppose far-left ideology in the House, specifically the progressive group called "the Squad".

On January 6, 2021, during the certification of electoral votes for the 2020 United States presidential election, Owens opposed the objection to the electors from Arizona, but supported the objection to the electors from Pennsylvania.

In 2021, Owens opposed the For the People Act, a Democratic-sponsored bill to reform election laws.

In 2021, Owens co-sponsored the Fairness for All Act, the Republican alternative to the Equality Act.