National Football League (NFL) player Azeez Al-Shaair wore pro-Palestine cleats in a game this weekend.
The Houston Texans linebacker wore them during Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“FREE” was written in the colors of the Palestinian flag on the outside of the shoes, representing the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. The shoes were worn as part of the NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign.
Pro-Palestine activists often use the phrase “Free Palestine” during demonstrations.
Chancellor Johnson, a sports anchor for Houston television station KPRC, reported last week that the inside of one of Al-Shaair’s shoes bore the message “Truly to Allah we belong and to Him we will all return,” a passage from the Holy Quran .
On the other shoe you could read “AT LEAST 41,788 Palestinians killed”, “96,794 injured” and “over 10,000 estimated under rubble”, referring to the victims of the Israeli war in Gaza. A screenshot of this shoe and the message was shared in a post on Al-Shaair’s Instagram page.
Al-Shaair was ejected from Sunday’s game after hitting Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence. After the match, Al-Shaair posted a comment on social media regarding the hit.
“I didn’t see it slip until it was too late. And it all happens in the blink of an eye,” he wrote.
The linebacker said he “sincerely” apologizes to Lawrence for what happened, noting that he would never want to see a player get hurt from a hit labeled “late” or “unnecessary.”
“I’ve always played as hard as I can. But never with the intent to hurt anyone and anyone who knows me knows that,” the comment read. “My goal is to hit you as hard as possible, then I pray that you can still get up and take part in the next action. And when the match is over I hope that you go home to your family unharmed because this is not a personal matter , it’s just competition!”
Al-Shaair concluded by writing, “God knows my intentions and anyone who has ever been my teammate or friend knows my heart.”
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