Controversial Houston Texans star Azeez Al-Shaair caused a stir on Monday night after wearing a pro-Palestine eye black message live on ESPN.
Al-Shaair, who has a long history of NFL violations, previously sparked contention when he wore cleats with ‘Free’ written on the outside in red and green Palestine colors during a practice session last July.
Six months later, he has made headlines again with another reference to the Israel-Gaza war while conducting a postgame interview with ESPN.
After helping Houston claim a resounding 30-6 playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Texans linebacker and practicing Muslim appeared on Monday Night Football wearing eye black which contained the message: ‘Stop the genocide’.
Al-Shaair could now face punishment from the NFL, given the league’s regulations state that players must not ‘wear, display, or otherwise convey personal messages either in writing or illustration’. He also wore it throughout the win over Pittsburgh.
In 2024, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa was fined $11,255 for holding up a MAGA hat in a postgame interview with NBC.
Texans star Azeez Al-Shaair caused a stir by wearing a pro-Palestine message live on ESPN
The Houston linebacker wore the message on his eye black during their win over Pittsburgh
After also wearing ‘Free’ on his cleats in a 2024 practice session, Al-Shaair explained his support for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund at the time.
‘I feel like it’s something that’s trying to be almost silenced,’ he told the Houston Chronicle.
‘On either side, people losing their life is not right.
‘In no way, shape, or form am I validating anything that happened, but to consistently say that because of [the October 7 attack on Israeli citizens] innocent people [in Gaza] should now die, it’s crazy.
‘[Other people] try to make a disconnect and dehumanize people over there. And it’s like, they’re human beings.
‘Being a Muslim, we see everybody the same; Black, White, Spanish, whatever you are; you can be orange, like, we’re all human beings.’
If he is penalized, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time Al-Shaair has landed himself in trouble with the NFL.
Al-Shaair was also spotted wearing pro-Palestine cleats in Texans training camp last summer
In December 2024, he was slapped with a three-game suspension following his sickening hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, which left him motionless on the turf and sparked a huge brawl between both teams.
Lawrence was running for a first down and slid to give himself up on the play. Al-Shaair did not pull up and made a vicious hit to his upper body and helmet.
The Jaguars star was eventually carted off with a concussion, while Al-Shaair was ejected from the game.
In a fiery post on social media, he attacked fans, branding those who criticized his hit on Lawrence as ‘racist and Islamophobic’ and accused reporters of calling him ‘every name in the book’ – before later issuing an apology.
