Muslim NFL player under scrutiny for ‘dirty hit’ against QB, while wearing pro-Hamas cleats

One cleat displayed the message ‘Surely to Allah we belong and to him we will all return,’ while the other listed Hamas casualty figures from the war.

By Jewish Breaking News

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair made headlines Sunday not only for knocking out Jacksonville Jaguars star quarterback Trevor Lawrence with a controversial hit, but also for wearing cleats displaying inflated Gazan casualty numbers.

The second-quarter collision, which sparked a bench-clearing brawl at TIAA Bank Field, saw Al-Shaair deliver a violent blow to Lawrence’s head as the quarterback attempted to slide.

The hit resulted in Lawrence’s immediate removal from the game with a concussion and Al-Shaair’s ejection alongside Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones.

But it was Al-Shaair’s choice of footwear that drew equal ire from fans on social media.

As part of the NFL’s annual My Cause My Cleats initiative, the linebacker opted to support the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

One cleat displayed the message “Surely to Allah we belong and to him we will all return,” while the other listed Hamas casualty figures from the war.

Al-Shaair talked about his decision to wear the cleats last month. “I feel like it’s something that’s trying to be almost silenced,” he told the Houston Chronicle.

“On either side, people losing their life is not right. In no way, shape or form am I validating anything that happened, but to consistently say that because of Oct. 7 innocent people in Gaza should now die, it’s crazy.”

The number of civilian casualties in Gaza has been at the center of international attention since the start of the war. The main source for the data has been the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry (MOH), which now claims more than 45,000 dead, the majority of which it says are children and women.

However, a closer examination reveals that Hamas has been using unreliable methods to count the dead.

According to a Washington Institute report, Hamas’ data collection methods changed dramatically in early November 2023 after hospitals in northern Gaza began shutting down during Israel’s ground invasion.

The MOH switched from traditional hospital and morgue certification to an undefined system based on media reports—a dramatic shift that went largely unacknowledged.

MOH statistics also fail to distinguish between civilian and terrorist casualties, further complicating efforts to assess the true human cost of the conflict.

That an NFL player can prominently display propaganda statistics without any scrutiny from the league or major media outlets speaks volumes about the current state of American institutions’ commitment to truth.