Suspended NFL Player Responds To Reports About ‘Free Palestine’ Cleats

Suspended Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair responded aggressively to reports about his wearing cleats with various pieces of Hamas propaganda on them when he did an illegal hit against Jacksonville Jaguars star QB Trevor Lawrence.

“IF YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR VILLAIN, I’LL BE YOUR VILLAIN! SEE YOU SOON…” the Texans player’s X post on Wednesday read.

The post included four pictures, one of which included him wearing the shoes with the message proclaiming “Free Palestine” with the word “FREE” written on one side of the cleats in the colors of the Palestinian flag. The other cleat contained a quote from the Quran and a message claiming, “at least 41,788 Palestinians killed” — a statistic taken directly from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Another picture showed a screenshot of the Joker from the 2019 “Joker” movie, and in the final photo, a message that read, “There is a beauty being rejected, misunderstood, unseen, and unprotected by people. It teaches you to rely on Allah for everything.”

The cleats are part of the league’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign, in which players can raise money for various causes. In Al-Shaair’s case, the money raised would go to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, according to the Houston Texans website. He began wearing the cleats last year following the horrific Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 that left 1,200 Israelis dead, thousands more wounded, and hundreds kidnapped and held hostage.

The relief fund’s partnerships with Hamas-linked groups has also brought increased scrutiny, according to NGO Monitor.

The post also followed the decision by the league to uphold the three-game suspension it leveled against Al-Shaair after he was ejected from the game on Sunday following the hit on the quarterback that left Lawrence with a concussion, CBS reported.

The NFL’s vice president of policy and rules administration, Jon Runyan, previously said the league had deemed the hit “unacceptable” and that the Texans player’s “continued disregard” for rules governing player safety “will not be tolerated,” ESPN reported.

“You were involved in a play that the [NFL] considers unacceptable and a serious violation of the playing rules,” Runyan wrote. “Video shows you striking the head/neck area of Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence after he clearly goes down in a feet-first slide. … You led with your forearm and helmet and delivered a forceful blow to the head/neck area of your opponent when you had time and space to avoid such contact.”

The Texans player later apologized to Lawrence, but also accused critics of racism and Islamophobia.

Related: Suspended Texans Linebacker Wears Cleats Featuring Hamas Propaganda