NFL Threatened to Ban Player From Game for Honoring Slain Palestinian Girl

Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, support us with a donation of any size. An NFL official reportedly threatened to remove Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair from his game earlier this month unless he removed his memorial for an 8-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israel in Gaza. During the Texans’s week two game against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 20, Al-Shaair wrote the name of Wafaa Akila on his eye black, which refers to the strip or paint streaks that many football players wear on their cheeks. Wafaa was an 8-year-old girl who was killed , along with her father, in an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in Gaza City on September 6. She and her father were on their way home from her first day of school, according to Al Jazeera . Al-Shaair, who is rated as one of the top linebackers in the league, was reportedly told by an NFL official that he would have to remove his eye black or else be barred from playing in the game, an anonymous NFL source told The Athletic . Al-Shaair complied, the reports said. Fox News ’s sports vertical also confirmed the league’s threat. The linebacker’s latest tribute came just days after the NFL gave him an $11,941 fine for writing Hind Rajab’s name on his eye black during the Texans game against the Buffalo Bills on September 13. In a show of solidarity, Dallas Mavericks player Kyrie Irving said in a post on social media that he would “take care of his fine.” Related Story News | Culture & Media Dearborn Mayor Invites Macklemore for City-Sponsored Show: “We Stand With You” The rapper was recently kicked off of Ed Sheeran’s tour after making pro-Palestine remarks onstage. By Sharon Zhang , T ruthout September 15, 2026 Truthout “It’s bigger to me. What’s a life worth? Is a life worth $11,000? I think it’s priceless,” said Al-Shaair when asked about the penalty . “You can’t get so lost in your own problems that you can’t have compassion for other people in the world,” he went on. “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 … whether they’re here in America or somewhere halfway across the world.” Ahead of the Texans game against the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday, Al-Shaair once again wore the names of children killed by Israel — Lana and Bana Ahmed, two sisters who Israel killed along with their family in an airstrike earlier this month. The sisters were 12 and 8 years old. The NFL gave Al-Shaair a similar fine in January when he wrote “stop the genocide” on his eye black during the pregame, but took it off for the actual game. At the time, he said that he was similarly told that he would be banned from playing in the game if he kept the message on. “At the end of the day, it’s bigger than me. When things that are going on makes people uncomfortable — imagine how those people feel. I think that’s the biggest thing. I have no affiliation, no connection to these people other than the fact that I’m a human being,” Al-Shaair told reporters after that fine. “Even when I’m walking off this field, that’s the type of stuff that goes through my head, that I have to check myself — when I’m sitting here crying about football, when there’s people dying every single day.” He was told that he violated league rules about displaying non-approved personal messages — but he pointed out that other players have written messages on their eye black without a fine. “They always fine you, but I was told if I wore that in the game, I would be pulled out of the game,” he said. “I understood it was a fine, but I ain’t never seen Stef get pulled out of the game for having eye tape with writing on it.” Al-Shaair was referring to New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs, who frequently writes messages honoring his Christian faith on his face tape. 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Prohibited: You cannot use this work for commercial purposes. Article HTML Republish HTML code for copying <h1>NFL Threatened to Ban Player From Game for Honoring Slain Palestinian Girl</h1> By Sharon Zhang This article was originally published by <a href src="https://truthout.org/articles/nfl-threatened-to-ban-player-from-game-for-honoring-slain-palestinian-girl/">Truthout</a> Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair wrote Wafaa Akila, the name of an 8-year-old girl killed by Israel, on his face tape. An NFL official reportedly threatened to remove Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair from his game earlier this month unless he removed his memorial for an 8-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israel in Gaza. During the Texans’s week two game against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 20, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ddg-KKPRVAa/">Al-Shaair wrote</a> the name of Wafaa Akila on his eye black, which refers to the strip or paint streaks that many football players wear on their cheeks. Wafaa was an 8-year-old girl <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-strike-kills-two-people-gaza-medics-say-2026-09-06/">who was killed</a>, along with her father, in an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in Gaza City on September 6. She and her father <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/9/21/nfls-azeez-al-shaair-pays-tribute-to-slain-palestinian-girl-wafaa-akila">were on their way home</a> from her first day of school, according to Al Jazeera. Al-Shaair, who is rated <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/2026-nfl-top-10-lbs-has-fred-warner-been-dethroned-leagues-best-linebacker">as one of the top</a> linebackers in the league, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7632192/2026/09/26/azeez-al-shaair-eye-black-nfl-wafaa-akila/">was reportedly told</a> by an NFL official that he would have to remove his eye black or else be barred from playing in the game, an anonymous NFL source told The Athletic. Al-Shaair complied, the reports said. Fox News’s sports vertical <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/nfl-told-azeez-al-shaair-pulled-texans-game-pro-palestinian-eyeblack-message">also confirmed</a> the league’s threat. The linebacker’s latest tribute came just days after the NFL gave him <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7600026/2026/09/16/azeez-al-shaair-texans-nfl-fine-eye-black/">an $11,941 fine</a> for writing <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/hind-rajabs-family-says-israels-investigation-into-hinds-death-just-a-pr-ploy/">Hind Rajab’s</a> name on his eye black during the Texans game against the Buffalo Bills on September 13. In a show of solidarity, Dallas Mavericks player <a href="https://x.com/KyrieIrving/status/2100238740874780993">Kyrie Irving said</a> in a post on social media that he would “take care of his fine.” “It’s bigger to me. What’s a life worth? Is a life worth $11,000? I think it’s priceless,” said Al-Shaair <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-threatens-texans-azeez-al-shaair-over-messaging/">when asked about the penalty</a>. “You can’t get so lost in your own problems that you can’t have compassion for other people in the world,” he went on. “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 … whether they’re here in America or somewhere halfway across the world.” Ahead of the Texans game against the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday, Al-Shaair <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/9/28/azeez-al-shaair-honours-slain-palestinian-sisters-despite-nfl-sanctions">once again wore</a> the names of children killed by Israel — Lana and Bana Ahmed, two sisters who Israel killed along with their family in an airstrike earlier this month. The sisters were 12 and 8 years old. The NFL gave Al-Shaair a similar fine in January when he wrote “stop the genocide” on his eye black during the pregame, but took it off for the actual game. At the time, he said that <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bigger-why-azeez-al-shaair-020805099.html">he was similarly told</a> that he would be banned from playing in the game if he kept the message on. “At the end of the day, it’s bigger than me. When things that are going on makes people uncomfortable — imagine how those people feel. I think that’s the biggest thing. I have no affiliation, no connection to these people other than the fact that I’m a human being,” Al-Shaair <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DTq__ULiRWR/">told reporters</a> after that fine. “Even when I’m walking off this field, that’s the type of stuff that goes through my head, that I have to check myself — when I’m sitting here crying about football, when there’s people dying every single day.” He <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bigger-why-azeez-al-shaair-020805099.html">was told</a> that he violated league rules about displaying non-approved personal messages — but he pointed out that other players have written messages on their eye black without a fine. “They always fine you, but I was told if I wore that in the game, I would be pulled out of the game,” he said. “I understood it was a fine, but I ain’t never seen Stef get pulled out of the game for having eye tape with writing on it.” Al-Shaair was referring to New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs, who <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DUe2bojESkh/">frequently writes</a> messages honoring his Christian faith on his face tape. <hr> This <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/nfl-threatened-to-ban-player-from-game-for-honoring-slain-palestinian-girl/">article</a> was originally published by <a href="https://truthout.org">Truthout</a> and is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)</a>. Please maintain all links and credits in accordance with our <a href="https://truthout.org/republishing-policy">republishing guidelines</a>. Copy this HTML code to republish the article on your website Close Copy HTML This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) , and you are free to share and republish under the terms of the license. Sharon Zhang Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering international affairs, politics, and labor. She has a master’s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter and Bluesky . Truthout

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