Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair has been fined by the NFL for a pro-Palestine messaged displayed during last week’s playoff victory.
The league confirmed on Saturday that Al-Shaair had been slapped with an $11,593 penalty for displaying a ‘personal message’ on his eye black for their Wild Card game.
Al-Shaair was spotted with the words ‘Stop the genocide’ written in white across his eye black during the 30-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 12th.
The message appeared to reference the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza.
According to the NFL rulebook, players are strictly prohibited from conveying personal messages ‘either in writing or illustration’ unless approved in advance.
The league office states it will not grant permission for messages relating to ‘political activities or causes.’
Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair has been fined $11,593 by the NFL
Al-Shaair was hit with the fine for displaying: ‘Stop the genocide’ on his eye black
Rule 5, Section 4, Article 8 states: ‘Throughout the period on game day that a player is visible to the stadium and television audience (including in pregame warm-ups, in the bench area, and during postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field), players are prohibited from wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office.’
This isn’t the first time that the Texans linebacker has used his platform to speak out on the topic. Al-Shaair previously wore custom cleats supporting Palestinians for the NFL’s ‘My Cause My Cleats’ campaign.
Those shoes featured the words ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we will all return.’
They also displayed the number of Palestinian lives reportedly lost in the war with Israel.
‘I feel like it’s something that’s trying to be almost silenced,’ Al-Shaair told the Houston Chronicle regarding his stance.
‘On either side, people losing their life is not right,’ he added.
‘In no way, shape, or form am I validating anything that happened, but to consistently say that because of [Oct. 7] innocent people [in Gaza] should now die, it’s crazy.’
The linebacker, who is Muslim, emphasized that he sees ‘everybody the same.’
The fine comes after San Francisco 49ers star Nick Bosa was punished earlier this season for crashing a post-game interview in a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat.
Al-Shaair previously wore cleats supporting Palestinians for the NFL’s ‘My Cause My Cleats’
Al-Shaair seen shaking hands with Pittsburgh Steelers veteran Aaron Rodgers after the game
It also comes just days after the league announced plans to honor Martin Luther King Jr throughout all of the upcoming divisional round playoff games.
With MLK Day just around the corner, the NFL have confirmed plans to have ‘Choose Love’ displayed in the end zones and helmet decals for all the games this weekend.
The NFL has used on-field social justice messaging over the past six seasons and their latest plans are just a continuation of that.
The Texans, meanwhile, are set to face the New England Patriots on Sunday for a chance to advance to the AFC Championship.
