NFL Fines Azeez Al-Shaair for ‘Stop the Genocide’ Message on Eye Black Strip
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Al-Shaair was fined $11,593 “for violating NFL uniform and equipment rules by wearing eye black that contained a personal message.”
The NFL has fined Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair for wearing a ‘Stop the Genocide’ message on his eye black during a game last week.
ESPN cited a source as saying that Al-Shaair was fined $11,593 “for violating NFL uniform and equipment rules by wearing eye black that contained a personal message.”
His message was understood to be in reference to Israel’s genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 71,500 Palestinians and injured over 171,000 more since October 2023. Despite a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect in October last year, ongoing Israeli attacks have killed over 400 Palestinians.
‘My Cause, My Cleats’
In an interview shared on X, Al-Shaair told a reporter that “At the end of the day, it is bigger than me. Things that are going on makes people uncomfortable. I imagine how those people feel…If you have a heart and you (are) a human being, you can see what is going on in the world.”
According to ESPN, Al-Shaair has also assisted the Palestinian cause by wearing custom-designed cleats to support Palestinian causes through the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” program over the past few seasons.
He reportedly said in a statement earlier this season that “If my platform can bring even a little hope to families in Palestine, then that is what I want to use it for.”
Condemnation from CAIR
The Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the US, condemned the NFL’s decision to fine Al-Shaair.
“We again applaud Houston Texans player Azeez Al-Shaair for using his platform to call for an end to genocide anywhere and everywhere, and we strongly object to the NFL’s reported decision to fine him for doing so amid pressure from pro-Israel extremists,” CAIR-Houston Director of Operations Imran Ghani said in a statement.
Ghani added that “The NFL apparently has no problem with coaches wearing pins from Robert Kraft’s ‘Stand Up to Jewish Hate’ campaign, and it should have no problem with an NFL player opposing genocide, whether the genocide in Gaza or Sudan or elsewhere. It should approve the use of the slogan ‘Stop the Genocide’ going forward.”
He stressed that “Al-Shaair’s message was rooted in basic human decency and concern for innocent lives. That should not be controversial, much less subject to a fine.“
Ghani noted that Al-Shaair has been outspoken in his support for Palestine and humanitarian relief efforts. In recent years, he selected the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund as his beneficiary for the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign and has met with families from Gaza who were receiving medical treatment in Houston, the statement added.
Over 71,500 Killed
Despite the US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect in October last year, Israel has killed 464 Palestinians and injured 712 others.
The total death toll since Israel launched its genocidal assault on Gaza in October 2023 has risen to 71,548, with 171,353 injured, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry figures.
(The Palestine Chronicle)