Azeez Al-Shaair doesn't claim to be an international scholar, but the Houston Texans linebacker still uses his platform to support citizens thousands of miles away.
Al-Shaair, now in his sixth NFL season and his first with the Texans, shared a photo of his cleats supporting the Palestinian people before Houston's Week 6 win over the New England Patriots last month. Al-Shaair's cleats each read "Free" on one side in support of the "Free Palestine" cause amid the ongoing bloodshed in Gaza. He included the statistics of "at least 41,788 Palestinians killed" and "96,794 wounded," as well as the inscription "Surely to Allah we belong and to him we will all return.