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Hard hits and Hamas were the talk of Week 13 after an NFL linebacker with a rough reputation was ejected while wearing war-focused cleats.

Unnecessary roughness was only part of the story in Sunday’s matchup between the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars when a visiting player sent the home team’s star quarterback off the field under concussion protocol. Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair’s hit on Jaguar’s Trevor Lawrence was made all the more controversial as Al-Shaair was sporting his charity footwear adorned with claims from the Gaza Health Ministry.

“It’s everything you’re not supposed to do. Everything,” said Fox NFL broadcaster Daryl Johnston as Lawrence entered a feet-first slide to end the play only to be struck by Al-Shaair’s forearm in the helmet. “It’s reckless. It’s disrespectful…There’s an honor that you give to your opponent on the football field and you respect him.”

An on-field fracas saw teammates attempting to lead the linebacker to the sidelines as the quarterback was carted away for an examination, only for another tussle to proceed Al-Shaair’s own departure from the game.

Of course, as he was ejected amid talks of a suspension, Al-Shaair appeared to be jawing at fans as jeers accompanied objects thrown down from the stands while he was led away through the tunnel with minutes remaining in the first half.

Regarding his equipment for the game, for NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” program, Al-Shaair selected the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund as his preferred charity and his footwear incorporated the message “Surely to Allah, we belong and to him, we will all return” with the word “FREE” spelled with red, green and white letters along with the pattern of keffiyehs.

They also listed figures claiming the number of people killed and wounded since Israel began its counteroffensive against Hamas, based on the oft-challenged reporting of the Gaza Health Ministry.

That reality prompted commentator Jon Root to contend the hit against Lawrence was, “An unnecessary & brutal attack, just like Hamas (who govern Palestine) against Israel on Oct. 7.”

For his part, Al-Shaair issued a lengthy statement Monday with the caption, “All Praise to Allah,” as he argued, “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.”

“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,’” continued the linebacker as he also noted understanding of the team’s reaction.

However, he lashed out at critics who linked his faith and opinion on the Middle East into the conversation and said, “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 [I]slamophobic fans and people, you don’t know my heart nor my character which I don’t need to prove any of you. God knows my intentions and anyone who has ever been a teammate or friend of mine knows my heart.”

“Not representative of who Azeez is,” said Texans Coach DeMeco Ryans while the team disavowed the hit. “He’s a smart player, really great leader for us. We felt his presence not being there. His loss really affected us on the defensive side. Just now what we’re coaching. Didn’t want to see the melee and all the aftermath.”

While Al-Shaair also defended his style of play as being absent of intent to harm, a compilation video showed past interactions that included a choke, punch, and an out-of-bounds tackle.

As for Lawrence whose team lost 23-20, the quarterback was later seen walking out of the locker room accompanied by his wife. he went on to post on X, “Thank you to everyone who has reached out/been praying for me. I’m home and feeling better. Means a lot, thank you all.”

Kevin Haggerty
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