Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is lashing out at “racist” fans for attacking him for both his unnecessary hit on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on Sunday and for his “My Cause, My Cleats” choice of supporting Palestinians.
Al-Shaair zoomed into the spotlight on Sunday for a late and unnecessary hit on Lawrence that was so forceful that the quarterback had to be carted off the field. The hit caused the entire Jaguars bench to rush to the field in protest, which resulted in a major brawl between both teams as they reacted to Al-Shaair’s act.
But that is not the only thing the 27-year-old Muslim player is being blasted for. He is also taking flack for putting the incendiary phrase “Free Palestine” on his cleats.
Not only does the cleat feature “Free Palestine,” but it also contains the phrase, “Surely to Allah we belong, and to him we will all return.”
In the wake of the Palestinian Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the player’s choice to support the Palestinians was not taken well by many fans:
But Al-Shaair clapped back at the detractors with a message to social media, calling critics “racists” and insisting that he did not mean to hurt Lawrence. He always hopes all NFL players remain injury-free and can jump up for the next play.
“I’ve always played the game as hard as I could. Never with the intent to harm anyone and anybody that knows me knows that. My goal is to hit you as hard as I can then I pray you’re still able to get up and play the next play. And when the game is over go home to your family unharmed because it’s not personal it’s just competition! We both are trying to do the same thing which is provide for our families!” he wrote in his statement.
He then went on to explain how that dirty hit on Lawrence occurred.
“I genuinely didn’t see him sliding until it was too late. And it all happens in the blink of an eye,” Al-Shaair explained. “To Trevor I genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening. Before the game we spoke and I told you how it was great to see you back out on the field and wished you well.”
“I would never want to see any player hurt because of a hit I put on them especially one that’s deemed ‘late’ or ‘unnecessary,'” he wrote.
“To the rest of his teammates I can definitely understand you having his back and defending him in a situation like that,” Al-Shaair said excusing the benches-clear brawl that his actions cause.
But then he took aim at the “racist” fans.
“To the rest of the people who I’ve been called every single name in the book from reporters with their hands ready for a story to find their villain, to racist and Islamophobic fans and people, you don’t know my heart nor my character which I don’t need to prove to any of you. God knows my intentions and anyone who has ever been a teammate or friend of mine knows my heart,” he railed.
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