Azeez Al-Shaair was told to remove Palestinian child’s name from eyeblack or be pulled from NFL game

The Texans linebacker honored 8-year-old Wafaa Akila one week after being fined nearly $12,000 for a similar tribute.

One week after making international headlines for writing the name of a Palestinian girl killed in Gaza on his eyeblack, Azeez Al-Shaair did the same thing on Sunday vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, highlighting another young Palestinian child killed in Gaza.

According to The Athletic, Al-Shaair faced the possibility of being barred from playing if he did not remove the girl’s name from his eyeblack. He was fined nearly $12,000 for the gesture in Week 1 and was not fined in Week 2, according to a league source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“What’s a life worth?” Al-Shaair told reporters, when asked about the fine, that NBA star Kyrie Irving offered to cover it. “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.”

Azeez wrote the name Wafaa Akila on Sept. 20, a tribute to an 8-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed earlier this month by an Israeli airstrike, according to Reuters. Writing messages on eyeblack violates the NFL’s uniform policy, which prohibits personal messages on the field.

Rule 5, Section 4 of the rulebook states, “”For any other violation of this Section 4 (e.g., wristbands and mouthpieces that are not League-approved, towel with a personal message, impermissible headwear under the helmet) that is discovered while the player is in the game, player will be advised to make appropriate correction at the next change of possession; if the violation is not corrected, player will not be permitted to enter the game.”

The rule also extends to the cleats players wear, except for one weekend when players can participate in the “My Cause My Cleats” initiative. In 2024, Al-Shaair wrote “Free” on his cleats, with donations going to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

Al-Shaair, who is Muslim, has been vocal about conditions in Gaza, writing “stop the genocide” in his eyeblack during warmups of the Texans’ playoff game vs. the New England Patriots last January. He wrote the same message on his eyeblack the week prior, ahead of the Texans’ playoff game vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, and told reporters he would be pulled from the Texans’ next game if he wore it during the game.