Azeez Al-Shaair on NFL fine for tribute to slain Palestinian girl: ‘What’s a life worth?’

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said Friday that he remains resolute in his political messaging despite his second NFL fine since January for writing pro-Palestinian sentiments on his eye black during games. The Houston Texans linebacker wrote “Hind Rajab,” the name of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza by Israeli forces in 2024, on the eye black he wore in the team’s season-opener against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The NFL, which prohibits players from wearing items with personal messages not approved by the league, fined him $11,941 for the gesture. Advertisement “What’s a life worth?” Al-Shaair responded Friday when asked about the fine. “Is a life worth $11,000? I think it’s priceless. So, to sit there and say that, ‘Oh man, the money’ and whatever, that wasn’t relevant to me. “As human beings, because we all have our own issues and things that we’re going through, (you) can get so lost in your own problems that you can’t have compassion for other people in the world.” The league issued Al-Shaair a similar fine last January for a message in his eye black that read “stop the genocide,” which he wore during a wild-card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After receiving that fine, Al-Shaair wore eye black with “stop the genocide” written on it again during warmups before Houston’s game against the New England Patriots the following week. He took the eye black off before kickoff. He said at the time that he was told he would get pulled from the Texans’ next game if he wore the message during the game. Coming off a Pro Bowl season in 2025 and serving as a captain for the Texans this year, Al-Shaair acknowledged that the attention on him, and the causes he stands for, is tied to what he brings on the field. “Everybody has a platform, some bigger than others,” Al-Shaair said. “But I think especially for myself, understanding the platform that I have, and also understanding how I got that platform. I got that platform because of what I do on the field, so I always use that as motivation to be better on the field, because the only reason why y’all care to talk to me and not whoever else is because of the way I play the game.” Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, who has been vocal about Palestinian rights, volunteered to pay Al-Shaair’s fine in a message posted to social media Wednesday. Al-Shaair said he’s communicated with Irving “multiple times, especially in the last week.” Advertisement “A lot of that stuff is just him supporting me and me supporting him and having each other’s backs,” Al-Shaair said. “I think the biggest thing is me and him 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, just not being afraid to do that.” Hind’s death became a symbol of the Palestinian cause. In August, the Israeli military opened criminal investigations into her death and six family members, who were shot and killed in their car in Gaza City in January 2024. The case also included the shelling of a Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance that tried to approach the vehicle — an attack that caused the deaths of two paramedics. Hind was the subject of an Oscar-nominated film about the shooting, “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” Al-Shaair said his goal was to raise awareness about a situation he felt was not well-known enough. “I don’t think everybody knows what it’s about,” Al-Shaair said. “I think that was the point because before that, probably most of you guys might not even know who she was. That’s kind of the point … We’re in our own little matrix. We’re blessed to be able to have the comforts of living in the United States and not having to worry about certain things. “But there are issues here, and all over the world, that, you know — we talk about even what happened with Hind Rajab and her family, those are taxpayer dollars that we, as Americans, are paying that are being used to bomb innocent men, women and children. So, that’s really what that was about.”