Gonzalez, Anthony, 1984-

Anthony E. Gonzalez (born September 18, 1984) is an American politician and retired athlete. A member of the Republican Party, he has served as the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 16th congressional district since 2019.

Born in Elyria, Ohio, he graduated from Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio before earning a B.A. from Ohio State University where he was a 3-year letterman in football. Gonzalez was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 32nd selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, and was taken to become the Colts' slot receiver. In 2009, Gonzalez earned the starting wide receiver position along with Reggie Wayne but lost the position in 2010 due to injuring his right knee during the 2009 season opener. Gonzalez's role in the Colts offense diminished even further during the 2011 season. He played in only eight games and did not catch a pass. He became an unrestricted free agent in the following off-season. On March 17, 2012, Gonzalez signed with the New England Patriots; the Patriots would release him on May 29. Following his release, Gonzalez decided to retire from sports and enrolled in the Stanford Graduate School of Business in September 2012, from which he received a master of business administration degree in 2014.

In 2018, Gonzalez filed to run as a Republican for the United States House of Representatives in Ohio's 16th congressional district. Gonzalez won the November 6 election with 57% of the vote, becoming the first Latino to represent Ohio in Congress. Along with Texas Democrat Colin Allred, he was one of two former NFL players to be elected to Congress in 2018. Gonzalez cherishes the opportunity to serve his country and his community as a member of the world’s greatest legislative body. Congressman Gonzalez serves on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and on the Financial Services Committee, where he is the vice chair of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion. He is also a proud co-chair of the House China Task Force.

Ahead of the 2022 midterms, Gonzalez originally planned to run for reelection. This prompted a primary challenge from Republican Max Miller due to Gonzalez having voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in February 2021. On September 16, 2021, Gonzalez announced that he would not be running for re-election.