Houston Texans player Azeez Al-Shaair said he was not surprised that the NFL fined him for his pro-Palestine message.
The NFL fined Al-Shaair $11,593 for wearing the words “stop the genocide” on his eye black, saying that displaying a personal message was a violation of his uniform and equipment rules.
“I understood what I was doing,” he said to reporters yesterday.
Using eye black to display messages is not new in football, as players like Tim Tebow and Stefon Diggs have used their eye black to write messages before. The NFL also has a program called “My Cause, My Cleats,” which permits players to design cleats in support of political causes and nonprofit organizations. In 2023, following the Hamas attacks in southern Israel on October 7, NFL kicker Greg Joseph wore cleats that said “I stand with Israel” to a game. Al-Shaair has also participated in the initiative, using it to support the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund in 2024.
According to Al-Shaair, the difference is that he was taken out of the game as a result of his messaging, saying that it was inconsistent with how the NFL has penalized other players for wearing messages on the field.
“I was told that if I wore that in the game, I would be pulled out the game,” he said. “That was the part that I was confused about, because I understood it was a fine, but I ain’t never seen [Diggs] get pulled out the game for having eye tape with writing on it.”
Despite the punishment, the 28-year-old linebacker was unapologetic about wearing the message on his face.
It’s bigger than me, the things that are going on, he said. “It makes people uncomfortable; imagine how those people feel.”
At the end of last year, Al-Shaair was nominated for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, which is given to players committed to philanthropy and community service.
Speaking yesterday about his passion for bringing attention to Palestine, he said, “I have no affiliation, no connection to these people other than the fact that I’m a human being. If you have a heart and you’re a human being, you can see what’s going on in the world, you check yourself real quick.”
He continued, “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 who are dying every single day.”
