HOUSTON — Azeez Al-Shaair said Friday that he has been in contact with Kyrie Irving, two days after the Dallas Mavericks guard pledged to pay the NFL fine the Houston Texans linebacker received for writing Hind Rajab’s name on his eye black. Rajab was a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza in 2024. Al-Shaair wore her name during Houston’s 36-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Reliant Stadium.
Speaking with reporters Friday, Al-Shaair said he and the Mavericks guard are on the same page.
“We’ve talked multiple times, especially in the last week,” Al-Shaair said. “I think the biggest thing is we align on the cause, which is humanity. Regardless of skin color, race, anything, that’s the biggest thing I think we align on.”
“It’s pretty black and white,” Al-Shaair continued. “We don’t have to have all the answers to everything to know that an innocent man, innocent woman, or innocent child losing their life is not right.”
Irving made the pledge Wednesday in a post on X. “I’ll take care of his fine,” Irving wrote. On Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 had reported that the league fined Al-Shaair $11,492 for an unauthorized message on his eye black. Al-Shaair led the Texans with 8 tackles and had 1 tackle for loss against Buffalo.
NFL rules bar players from displaying personal messages on game days while they are visible to the stadium and television audience unless the league office approves the message in advance. The league also prohibits anyone other than the fined player from paying a fine.
Kyrie Irving Posted Hind Rajab’s Name in Response to ESPN on Thursday
On Thursday, ESPN shared its story on Irving’s pledge on X with a caption that did not include Rajab’s name, The Shadow League reported. Irving quote-tweeted the network’s post with photos of Rajab.
“Her name is HIND RAJAB,” Irving wrote. “And She was more brave than every single one of you at ESPN.”
Rajab was killed on Jan. 29, 2024, along with six members of her family, after their car came under fire from Israeli forces in Gaza City. She was trapped in the car with her relatives’ bodies and stayed on the phone with Palestine Red Crescent Society dispatchers for hours. She was found dead 12 days later. In August, the Israeli military acknowledged for the first time that it opened fire on the vehicle. It also opened a criminal investigation into the killings.
Irving converted to Islam in 2021, during his second season with the Brooklyn Nets. At the All-Star Game in February, he wore a shirt marked “PRESS” to honor journalists killed in Gaza. He has also worn a chain with the Palestinian flag.
Irving has not played since he tore the ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025, against the Sacramento Kings. On Feb. 18, the Mavericks ruled him out for the rest of the 2025-26 season. In 50 games during the 2024-25 season, the nine-time All-Star averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists.
Azeez Al-Shaair Was Also Fined in January Over ‘Stop the Genocide’ Eye Black
Al-Shaair, who is Muslim, was fined $11,593 in January for writing “stop the genocide” on his eye black during Houston’s 30-6 wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 12, according to ESPN. Six days later, he had the same message on his eye black before the divisional-round game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. It was gone once the game started. Houston lost 28-16.
More than 73,000 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel’s campaign, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. Rights groups and U.N. commissions have said the campaign amounts to genocide. Israel denies accusations of genocide and war crimes and says it is targeting Hamas after the group’s October 2023 attack on southern Israel.
After the loss in New England, Al-Shaair said he had been told he would be pulled out of the game if he wore the message during play.
“At the end of the day, it’s bigger than me,” Al-Shaair explained. “The things that are going on make people uncomfortable, [so] imagine how those people feel. I have no affiliation or 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, then you can see what’s going on in the world.
“When I’m walking off this field, that’s the type of stuff that I’m thinking about, that I have to check myself when I’m sitting here crying about football when there’s people dying every single day,” Al-Shaair added.
Through the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” program, Al-Shaair has worn cleats supporting the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. His 2024 pair carried the word “FREE” on one side and a verse from the Quran on the other. In a statement last season, he said, “If my platform can bring even a little hope to families in Palestine, then that is what I want to use it for.”
In July, Al-Shaair traveled to Jordan with the nonprofit Human Development Fund and met children and families affected by the war. He has also met families from Gaza who were receiving medical treatment in Houston.
“I stayed there literally as long as I possibly could,” Al-Shaair said during training camp. “I just didn’t want to leave them, and I think about them every day.”
Houston signed Al-Shaair in March 2024. The San Francisco 49ers signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic in 2019, and he spent the 2023 season with the Tennessee Titans. Last season, he made his first Pro Bowl after recording 103 tackles, 9 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, and 2 interceptions. This offseason, he signed a three-year, $54 million extension that included a $14 million signing bonus.
The Texans host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Reliant Stadium, with kickoff at 12 p.m. CT on CBS.
