Azeez Al Shaair vowed to continue staging protests to highlight Palestinian suffering – and he was as good as his word ahead of the Houston Texans' 20-6 defeat to Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night.
The 29-year-old linebacker had already been fined twice since January for writing pro-Palestine messages on his eye black during games, and now faces a third sanction after displaying the name “Wafaa Akila” at the weekend.
Eight-year-old Wafaa was killed alongside her father by an Israeli air strike on September 6 which had targeted their vehicle as they drove to pick up supplies following her first day of school.
Azeez had previously written “Hind Rajab” – the name of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza by Israeli forces in 2024 – on his eye black for his team’s season opener against the Buffalo Bills last weekend.
The NFL forbids players from displaying messages not approved by the league, and he was fined around $11,500 for the gesture.
“What’s a life worth?” Al Shaair told NFL reporters when asked about the fine. “Is a life worth $11,000? I think it’s priceless. So, to sit there and say, ‘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.”
Israeli military police have opened a criminal case over the death of five-year-old Hind, whose killing and traumatic final moments in Gaza sparked outrage around the world.
Hind and six members of her family were killed when their car was fired on by Israeli forces in January 2024. Trapped in the vehicle in her last moments, Hind's haunting phone call to paramedics became the subject of a film, The Voice of Hind Rajab.
“I don’t think everybody knows what it’s about,” Al Shaair added. “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.”
Al Shaair’s protest got the attention of Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, who tweeted: “I’ll take care of his fine.”
Irving then quote-tweeted ESPN's coverage of the story, with the message: “Her name is Hind Rajab and she was more brave than every single one of you at ESPN.”
The NBA star has also been vocal on Palestine, and Al Shaair confirmed they had been in contact. “A lot of that stuff is just him supporting me and me supporting him and having each other’s backs,” he 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 colour, 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.”
The NFL fined Al Shaair in January for a message on his eye black that read “stop the genocide”, which he displayed in a wild-card play-off game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He repeated the message the following week in the warm-up before a game against the New England Patriots, but removed it before play started, later claiming he had been told he would be dropped from the line-up if he wore it for the game.
Al Shaair was born in Tampa, Florida, but his parents converted to Islam and he spent part of his childhood in Jeddah, where his father worked as an English tutor.
After returning from Saudi Arabia, he was left homeless at 12 when his parents separated and a fire destroyed his mother's house. He was living in a motel at the time he was talent-spotted by a local coach and put on the pathway to a scholarship.
He was an NCAA standout with the Florida Atlantic Owls before being signed by the San Francisco 49ers. A year with the Tennessee Titans proved transformative, and he was snapped up by the Texans on a three-year $34 million contract in 2024. He clinched a new three-year deal worth $54m in April.
Al Shaair says he will continue to make political statements and insists they will not affect his performances. The Texans star was picked for his first Pro Bowl in 2025 and has been entrusted with the captaincy for the 2026 NFL season.
“Everybody has a platform, some bigger than others,” he 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 you all care to talk to me and not whoever else is because of the way I play the game.”
