The NFL fined American football player Azeez Al-Shaair, who plays as a linebacker (second defensive line) with the Houston Texans, for having written “Stop the genocide” before his eyes (a eye black), an alleged reference to Gaza, the American sports television channel ESPN reported on Sunday.
He was fined $11,593 for violating NFL uniform and equipment rules after displaying that message on his face during the AFC’s 30-6 wild-card victory at Pittsburgh last week.
Despite the fine, Shaair again wore the same message on his face before Houston’s AFC Divisional Playoff game against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Later, during the match, the message disappeared.
Shaair, 28, is a staunch opponent of Israel.
In December 2023, two months after the pogrom perpetrated by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on October 7, 2023, while playing for the Tennessee Titans, he chose to support the NGO Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) as part of the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” program.
