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By Michael Gallagher
Sports Content Coordinator
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Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is no stranger to being in trouble with the NFL.
The Pro Bowl linebacker has been fined several times by the league over his eight-year NFL career for various infractions including illegal use of the helmet, fighting, blow to a quarterback's head/neck, and hit on a defenseless player, among others.
But Al-Shaair’s latest infractions don’t involve him being over-aggressive on the field.
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The 29-year-old defender has drawn the ire of the league office for what’s been deemed a uniform violation relating to his eye black, in which he’s used to reveal his stance about the conflict going on in Gaza.
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Al-Shaair was fined $11,953 during a Jan. 12 playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers for sporting the message “stop the genocide” on his eye black. He was also fined $11,941 after Week 1 for having “Hind Rajab,” the name of a slain 4-year-old Palestinian girl, written on his eye black.
He then wrote the name of a different slain Palestinian girl on his eye black during Houston’s Week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, which nearly led to an ejection, according to The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones.
“Al-Shaair began the Texans’ Week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals with the name Wafaa Akila written on his eyeblack,” Jones reported.
“After it was spotted by a league official, Al-Shaair was informed he would have to remove it or he would not be permitted to continue playing in the game, according to a league source who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.”
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Al-Shaair admitted that he’s OK with taking the fines to help get his message out there. However, if it costs him playing time, that’s where Al-Shaair appears to draw the line.
“At the end of the day, it’s bigger than me,” Al-Shaair said after Week 1. “The things that are going on make people uncomfortable, imagine how those people feel. I think that’s the biggest thing. 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 and you check yourself real quick. 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 dying every single day.”
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