DALLAS — Kyrie Irving said Wednesday that he will pay the NFL fine issued to Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who wrote the name of Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza in 2024, on his eye black during Sunday’s season opener.
The Dallas Mavericks guard made the offer in a post on X at 10:01 a.m. CT. “I’ll take care of his fine,” Irving wrote.
On Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reported that the league fined Al-Shaair $11,492 for an unauthorized message on his eye black. Houston lost 36-31 to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Reliant Stadium. Al-Shaair led the Texans with 8 tackles and had 1 tackle for loss.
NFL rules bar players from wearing, displaying, or conveying personal messages while they are visible to the stadium and television audience unless the league office approves the message in advance. That window includes pregame warmups, the bench area, and postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field. Al-Shaair still had the eye black on when reporters entered the Texans’ locker room after the game.
Three other Texans were fined from the same game. Running back David Montgomery was fined $11,491 for an unauthorized logo on his cleats. Defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. was fined $8,923 for roughing the passer, and offensive tackle Trent Brown was fined $5,971 because his socks did not cover his lower leg.
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 and said it had opened a criminal investigation into the killings. That investigation also covers the shelling of the ambulance carrying paramedics sent to reach her.
Azeez Al-Shaair Was Fined In January For A ‘Stop the Genocide’ Message
In January, the league fined Al-Shaair $11,593 for writing “stop the genocide” on his eye black in Houston’s 30-6 wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Jan. 12. Israel has denied accusations of genocide in Gaza. Six days after the Pittsburgh game, Al-Shaair 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, and Houston lost 28-16.
The fine from the wild-card game was not what surprised Al-Shaair.
“They always fine you, but I was told if I wore that in the game, I would be pulled out of the game,” Al-Shaair said after the loss in New England. “That was probably the part that I was confused about, because I understood it was a fine, but I ain’t never seen [wide receiver Stefon Diggs] get pulled out of the game for having eye tape with writing on it.”
Al-Shaair, who is Muslim, said in January that he has no personal connection to the people in Gaza.
“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.”
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.
“If my platform can bring even a little hope to families in Palestine, then that is what I want to use it for,” Al-Shaair said in a statement last season.
Al-Shaair traveled to Jordan in July 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 had signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic in 2019, and he also played for the Tennessee Titans. Last season, he made his first Pro Bowl after recording 103 tackles, 9 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, and 2 interceptions. The Texans named him their club winner for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. This offseason, he signed a three-year, $54 million extension that included a $14 million signing bonus.
Kyrie Irving Has Worn Shirts Honoring Journalists Killed In Gaza
Irving has posted on social media about the needs of Palestinian children in Gaza. He has also worn shirts honoring journalists killed there. At last season’s All-Star Game, he wore a shirt marked “PRESS.” He has worn a chain with the Palestinian flag as well.
Irving has not played since he tore the ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025, against the Sacramento Kings. He had surgery on March 26, 2025. On Feb. 18, the Mavericks ruled him out for the rest of the 2025-26 season.
In 50 games during the 2024-25 season, Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. The Cleveland Cavaliers took him with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, and he won a championship with Cleveland in 2016. The nine-time All-Star has averaged 23.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists across 779 career games.
The Texans host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Reliant Stadium, with kickoff at 12 p.m. CT on CBS.
