TreVeyon Henderson’s ‘My Cause, My Cleats’ Honors Persecuted Christians The Media Ignores – OutKick

A major design element of his cleats will be drops of blood
TreVeyon Henderson is using his cleats to raise awareness of a social issue that rarely receives significant attention.
The New England Patriots' rookie running back has been open about his Christian faith on many occasions, dating back to his collegiate career at Ohio State. In October, he chose to post on X about the persecution of fellow Christians in Nigeria — something I noted the legacy media (on both sides) spent little time covering.
While Christian persecution happens worldwide, Henderson was right to highlight the Nigerian crisis in particular.
Between 2009 and 2023, some reports estimate that 52,000 Christians in that country were killed — a majority by Muslims. In 2025, over 30 Christians per day were killed in the first seven months alone.
This should be easy fodder for the media, since they obviously care about genocide. Just look at how fervently they cover the "genocide" against transgender youths and black men dying at the hands of police officers!
But they’ve said hardly a peep here — likely because this crisis doesn’t align with progressive priorities. (They also don’t know how to cover a real genocide, since those two examples they care about aren’t actually real. But I digress.)
As a result, an NFL running back is putting journalists to shame and bringing more awareness to the cause than the media combined.
In partnership with Global Christian Relief, Henderson is advocating for the persecuted global church and will wear these cleats as part of the league’s "My Cause, My Cleats" initiative. He will showcase them on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants.
"When you… look at what Jesus teaches us and what He warns us about — the persecution we will face for following Him — there’s a lot of it going on, but there’s not a lot of awareness about it," Henderson said.
A major design element of his cleats will be drops of blood, which he said has a two-fold meaning.
"The blood dripping on the cleats symbolizes the blood that has been shed on the cross," Henderson said. "This symbolizes the faithfulness of the persecuted church — that despite the blood that’s being shed, the one thing they aren’t losing is their faith."
Henderson says the example of persecuted Christians inspires him to be bold in his own faith.
"Their faithfulness…encourages and emboldens me to be courageous and bold here in the U.S., where we face very little persecution compared to what they are facing," Henderson said.
There have been many good causes highlighted by players participating in this initiative. But Henderson’s cleats — and the meaning behind them — will speak volumes in a way most others won’t.
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