Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – NFL player Azeez Al-Shaair was fined more than $11,000 for wearing the name of a Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces on his face markings last weekend, a league spokesman said Wednesday. Linebacker Al-Shaair had the words “Hind Rajab” written on his eye black — a sticker or paint frequently used by American football players to reduce glare — for the Houston Texans’ clash with the Buffalo Bills. Rajab was a five-year-old girl whose death in Gaza in 2024 after Israeli troops opened fire on her family’s stranded car became the subject of an Oscar-nominated docu-drama.
Long-standing NFL rules forbid personal messages of any kind, including political statements, to be displayed during game days. An NFL spokesman confirmed to AFP that Al-Shaair was fined $11,941 for the breach. He was also fined last season for a similar offense for a personal message, which read “Stop The Genocide.” The NFL policy states that “throughout the period on game day that a player is visible to the stadium and television audience… 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.”
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The league can approve in advance certain items, such as jersey patches, to celebrate anniversaries or memorable events, or to honor or commemorate individuals. But the NFL will not grant permission for any items on display “which relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns,” the rule states.
Al-Shaair, 29, from Florida, is a practicing Muslim who has frequently spoken on the situation in Gaza. “I feel like it’s something that’s trying to be almost silenced,” Al-Shaair told the Houston Chronicle in 2024. “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 (October 7) innocent people (in Gaza) should now die, it’s crazy.”
Dallas Mavericks basketball star Kyrie Irving swiftly spoke out in support of Al-Shaair, offering to personally pay the footballer’s fine. “I’ll take care of his fine,” Irving posted on social media.
The Israeli military last month admitted its troops fired on Rajab’s family’s car and said it had ordered a criminal investigation into the killing, which drew international outrage. Rajab’s body was recovered from the bullet-riddled car in Gaza City days after she was last heard from in a desperate, hours-long phone call to the Palestinian Red Crescent on January 29, 2024. The Israeli military had previously denied its troops were present in the area near the incident.
© 2024 AFP
