Kelly Etienne

Haitian-American diplomat, former politician and former quarterback (born 1978)

**Kelly Rose-Marie Etienne** (born January 7, 1978; née Kelly Rose-Marie Mathieu) is an Haitian-American diplomat, former politician and a former professional gridiron football quarterback, most notably for the Brooklyn Revolution in 2000. She has served as the United States' Ambassador to Haiti since September 9, 2023. She previously represented Utah in the United States House of Representatives from 2009 to 2023. She is the daughter of former Haitian President Louis Mathieu.

Her professional football career began in 2000, when she was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Brooklyn Revolution of the Women's National Football League (WNFL), where she threw for 2,699 yards and had 18 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. She would then be released by the Revolution and was a journeyman quarterback for the rest of her career until finally retiring in 2007. After retiring from football. she returned to Morgan State University to finish her bachelors degree. She would then attend Yale University and obtain a Masters of Fine Arts in economics. She ran for the vacant position back in her home state of Utah in 2011, defeating Democratic opponent A.J. Espinoza in the general election. She served as the representative for Utah's 2nd district until redistricting in 2013, after which she served as the representative for Utah's fourth district. Etienne was defeated in the 2015 election by fellow Conservative–Republican Warren Bates in the primaries. She was nominated by Eric Juarez to serve as the United States Ambassador to Haiti on August 13, 2023. She began her tenure in the role on September 9, 2023 after a confirmation vote of 87–12 in the Senate.

## Early life

Kelly Rose-Marie Mathieu was born on January 7, 1978 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She was the youngest of seven siblings (5 sisters and 2 brothers). Her father Louis Mathieu was the President of Haiti from 1971 to 1988, Her early family was described as very tumultuous with her mother being absent most of the time due to her addiction to cocaine, and with her father being absent most of the time due to his political responsibilities. Etienne was primarily raised by her aunt and uncle, who she describes as very disciplinarian and "God-fearing." She states that this period from around age 3 to age 11, was when she began to embrace faith as an essential part of her life. She would immigrate to the United States with three of her older brothers in 1966, after her father was assassinated.

Mathieu moved to the Provo, Utah, citing that "Utah was a place where faith and the family come first." She attended high school at Joseph A. Lincoln High School in Provo, Utah. While in high school, she was captain of the debate team and participated in the Young Conservatives Society. She also spoke at the Douglas MacArthur Presidential Center during her junior year. Etienne also took interest in track and field and volleyball and football. She desired to play football like the boys, however she was denied her request to start a female tackle football team at her school. She graduated top of her class, with a 3.76 grade point average. She attended college at Morgan State University and received a full scholarship. She intended on majoring in political science with a minor in economics; however she would drop out from school in 1999 to participate in the inaugural edition of the Women's National Football League after submitting a tape to the league and becoming eligible for the draft. Mathieu impressed team scouts in the WNFL combine; however they were reluctant to draft her due to perceived issues with her attitude.

## Football career

### Teams

#### Brooklyn Revolution

Mathieu was signed to the Brooklyn Revolution as an undrafted free agent in 2000. She was able to best her competition and take the starting job at quarterback in the preseason. She started in 15 games for the Revolution, passing for 2,699 yards and 18 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. She earned a Second Team All-WNFL honors and was named as an alternate to the All-Star Game. She would not resign with the Revolution in the offseason and was released as a free agent.

## U.S. House of Representatives

### Elections

#### 2010

Etienne declared her candidacy for Utah's 2nd congressional district on March 15, 2009. The seat was being contested in the 2010 election due to the retirement of long-time member Stephen Murphy.

## United States Ambassador to Haiti

Etienne was the first to recognize the Haitian claim to the Haitian Bahamas, which was annexed by the country on January 1, 2023.

## Other ventures

Etienne owns approximately $17.5 million dollars in assets and investments. This includes stocks in Lucky Star Corporation and a minority share in the City Trust of Kansas City, the ownership group of the Kansas City Indians Major League Baseball team and the Kansas City Stadium. She also owns a 30.5% share in her former team, the Brooklyn Revolution which includes a 2.5% share in the WNFL. She owns a 3.4% stake in Lockheed Martin according to a 2022 report. She has a 5.5% ownership stake in Liberty America.

## Political positions

Main article: Political positions of Kelly Etienne
### Abortion

While Etienne is opposed to abortion based on her religious beliefs, she is against a government-mandated ban on abortions. In 2013, she stated that she was not opposed to abortions prior to 6 weeks of pregenancy, or when it provided a potential health risk to either the fetus or the mother. She also opposes defunding planned parenthood.

### Economic and welfare positions

#### Welfare

Etienne supports keeping the current welfare system in place. She opposed returning to a pre-1990s social service system, calling it "the first step to socialism." She has voted in congress nearly every year for reductions in the social safety net. She believes that welfare should be an aid rather than what she belives is a crutch.

### Foreign policy positions

#### Haiti

Etienne favors stronger ties with Haiti. She has been unwaivering in her support of the Mathieu family in Haiti and the government of Haiti. She has claimed that anyone who suggested that people were being unjustly imprisoned were simply "unahppy people," with nothing to do with their lives. She has called defectors from Haiti "traitors" to the country, despite the fact the she essentially defected from the country herself. She has repeatedly made statements in support of the Haitian regime, including on April 21, the day the Haitian National Congress seized control of the country in 1971. Her relationship with the Haitian diasporic community is quite poor due to her support of her father and brother.

### Immigration

Etienne is a moderate with regards to the issue of immigration. She supports a pathway to citizenship and has been critical of the anti-immigrant rhetoric of the Elizondoist wing of the Conservative–Republican Party

### COVID-19, mask & vaccine mandates

Etienne initially downplayed the severity of COVID-19, claimimg that it was similar to the common cold. She urged people to remain calm and continue their daily routines in the early days of the pandemic. Etienne caught COVID-19 on June 20, 2020 and was hospitalized from June until mid-August. Etienne has been vocally skeptical of the efficacy of vaccines. She has outright stated that she does not believe that they work in most cases. However, she would later backtrack on this statement. She reposted discredited posts promoting a link between vaccines and Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has been critical of the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and was initially reluctant to get the vaccine; citing the history of human experimentation conducted on African-Americans. She has twice promoted on Twitter, "natural remedies," to COVID-19. However, she has also been critical of vaccine skepticism and has vocally rebuked some criticisms put on by other conservatives. This includes a Tweet claiming that the "documentary" "*Plandemic*" was full of errors, leaps in logic, and outright fallicies. She is against mask mandates and vacccines mandates, stating that people should have the choice for their own bodies.

#### Reparations

Etienne supports a one-time reparation payment to all decendents of former slaves.

## Public image

### In Haiti

Etienne despite, being the daughter of a former dictator has favorable approval from Haitians and especially from the Haitian-American diasporic community. Despite a generally favorable opinion amongst Haitians due to her vocal desire to improve US-Haitian relations there have been numerous incidents including several failed assassination attempts from Anti-Mathieu dissidents. She has also aroused controversy due to her perceived whitewashing of history of Haiti under her father's regime from 1971 to 1999.

## Personal life

Etienne was raised a Roman Catholic. She has four children with her husband Toussaint Pierre Etienne. She has three sons: Toussaint Jr., Louis and Daniel Etienne; as well as one daughter named Catherine. She is fluent in Haitian Creole, French, and Spanish and has taught all three to her children. In 2023, she joined the controversial charismatic Sunlight Shiners Club.

Her family still reside in Provo, Utah. She is a lifelong fan of the Kansas City Indians of Major League Baseball and owns a suite at Kansas City Stadium. Etienne aided in financing in renovations to the stadium in 2015. She also supports the Haitian National Football Team and a fan of Tottenham Hotspurs F.C. in the English Premier League, and of the Utah Jazz.