Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was told to take a Palestinian girl’s name off his eye black during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, or he would have to stop playing, The Athletic reported.
Al-Shaair had written the name of Wafaa Akila, an 8-year-old girl killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza earlier this month. A league official noticed the name during the game, and Al-Shaair removed it after being warned, a league source told The Athletic. He was not fined.
The warning came a week after the NFL fined Al-Shaair $11,942 for wearing Hind Rajab’s name on his eye black during a game. Rajab was killed in Gaza in 2024. Israeli military investigators have opened a criminal investigation into her death.
Asked last week about the fine, Al-Shaair said the money had not changed his mind.
“What’s a life worth? 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.”
NFL rules bar players from displaying personal messages on their uniforms. When officials find certain violations during a game, they tell players to fix them; those who don’t comply can be kept off the field.
Al-Shaair has been fined over his eye black before. During a game last season, he wore a message reading “stop the genocide.” He wore the same message while warming up for the Texans’ next playoff game but removed it before kickoff. Al-Shaair said at the time that he had been warned he would be pulled from the game if he kept it on.
Al-Shaair’s decision to wear the name for a second straight week and the NFL’s warning during the game drew reactions from football fans on social media.