NFL Fines Texans Linebacker For Pro-Palestinian Message On His Face During Sunday’s Game

(Aaron M. Sprecher via AP)

The NFL fined Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair nearly $12,000 after he displayed the name of a Palestinian girl killed in Gaza on his face during Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

Al-Shaair had “Hind Rajab” written on his eye black during the game, prompting the league to hit him with an $11,941 fine, the NFL confirmed to The Athletic on Wednesday.

The news was first reported by KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson, who covers the NFL and Texans for the station. Wilson’s X post on the matter was reposted by Al-Shaair himself.

Hind Rajab was a 5-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza in 2024 after the car she was in with six members of her family came under fire from Israeli forces. All seven were killed.

The Israeli military opened criminal investigations into her death and the deaths of 15 aid workers who approached her vehicle in an ambulance in August.

NFL rules bar players from displaying personal messages that have not received prior approval from the league.

Though it’s not the first time Al-Shaair has been punished for using his eye black to make a statement about the war in Gaza. The linebacker was fined more than $11,000 in January after wearing eye black bearing the words “stop the genocide” during a wild-card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Al-Shaair defended his decision after receiving that fine.

“At the end of the day, it’s bigger than me,” he told reporters. “The things that are going on make people uncomfortable, [so] imagine how those people feel. I have no affiliation or connection to these people other than the fact that I’m a human being. If you have a heart and you’re a human being, then you can see what’s going on in the world.

Al-Shaair again wore the “stop the genocide” message during warmups before the Texans faced the New England Patriots the following week, The Athletic noted. He said he had been warned he would be removed from the game if he continued wearing it once play began.

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