Kyrie Irving offers to pay Al-Shaair's $11,941 NFL fine — SkimNews
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- Kyrie Irving offered to pay Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair's $11,941 NFL fine for displaying the name of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab on his eye black during Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills
- The fine stems from standard NFL uniform and equipment rules prohibiting players from displaying personal messages without prior approval
- Hind Rajab was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza City in 2024 along with six members of her family when their car came under fire; the Israeli military acknowledged for the first time last month that it opened fire on the vehicle and said it had launched a criminal investigation
- Al-Shaair was hit with a similar fine in January for displaying the message 'stop the genocide' on his eye black during a game last season
- Al-Shaair, who is Muslim, has used the NFL's 'My Cause, My Cleats' program over the past several seasons to wear cleats supporting Palestinian causes, saying he wanted to use his platform to bring 'even a little hope' to families in Palestine
- Irving has also publicly supported Palestinians on social media and worn shirts honoring journalists killed in Gaza
Why it matters: This is Al-Shaair's second NFL fine for eye-black messages related to Palestine, showing the league's enforcement of its no-personal-messages rule creates an ongoing friction point for players using on-field visibility for political causes. Irving's offer puts a high-profile NBA star on record backing the gesture, amplifying the visibility of Hind Rajab's case at a moment when Israel's military has acknowledged firing on her family's vehicle and opened a criminal probe.
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