Houston Texans’ Azeez Al-Shaair has been using his eye black strips to spread awareness around the Israel-Gaza conflict. In Week 1, He honored Hind Rajab, a young Palestinian girl who died in 2024 while speaking with Palestinian emergency services. The NFL stepped in to fine the star linebacker $11,492. However, Al-Shaair will be taking it on the chin.
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KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson shared on X that Al-Shaair “didn’t appeal” the NFL’s fine. The league held him in violation of a rule that prevents players from displaying personal messages on uniforms and equipment without prior approval from the league.
“I understand that me playing extremely well gives me a bigger platform,” Al-Shaair told the press. “With that platform, I’ll be questioning, like I told you guys before, on what I did with it. When I got it, that’s the stuff I have to ask you to God. So for me, To sit there and say that, oh man, the money, whatever, that wasn’t relevant to me.
“I think it’s just important to do that as human beings because we all have our own issues and things that we’re going through, which can get so lost in your own problems that you can’t have compassion for other people in the world.”
In January 2026, Azeez Al-Shaair wrote “Stop the genoc-de” on his eye black during the playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. For that, the NFL fined him $11,593. For the ‘My Cause, My Cleats’ program last year, Al-Shaair chose to honor the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.
After receiving the fine for honoring the five-year-old girl (which Dallas Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving has offered to pay) in the Week 1 game, Al-Shaair went on to honor another name in Week 2. This time, he wrote “Wafaa Akila,” an eight-year-old girl who also passed in the conflict.
“It’s bigger to me. Is a life worth $11,000? I think it’s priceless,” Al-Shaair told reporters a few days ago. “You can’t get so lost in your own problems that you can’t have compassion for other people in the world… I think the biggest thing is me and him (Kyrie Irving) align on the cause, which is humanity. We both care about humanity, regardless of skin color, race, anything like that. That’s what I think more than anything, when it comes to me and him, that we align on, and just not being afraid to do that.
“We don’t have to have all the answers to everything to know that an innocent man, an innocent woman, an innocent child losing her life is not right. I don’t need anybody to gaslight me into saying that, well, you’ve got to ask. I just know that’s not right, whether they’re here in America or somewhere halfway across the world.”
Nevertheless, Al-Shaair’s philanthropy and community service are recognized. For his community outreach and on-field excellence, he was the team winner of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2025. He is also a defensive captain for the Houston Texans this year, which shows how valued he is by the team.