- May 21, 2026
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The NFL has fined Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair $11,941 for having a personal message written on his black eye strips during the Week 1 game against the Bills. Mavericks star Kyrie Irving has Al-Shaair covered.
"I’ll take care of his fine," Irving said on social media, via ESPN.
Al-Shaair, who was fined in January for wearing "stop the genocide" on his eye-black strips, played Sunday's game with the name "Hind Rajab" written in the space. The five-year-old girl was killed by Israeli forces, along with six members of her family, when their car came under fire in Gaza City in 2024.
The league generally prohibits any personal messaging without prior approval.
The league also prohibits the payment of fines by anyone other than the person being fined. But that can't stop Irving from giving Al-Shaair a gift in the amount of, say, $11,941, if Irving so chooses.
And while Al-Shaair is doing well enough to pay the fine on his own, with a contract that pays out on average $18 million per year, Irving is making nearly $40 million in 2026-27.
The next question is whether Al-Shaair will try to do it again in Week 2 against the Bengals, and whether he'll be prevented from playing. After he was fined for having the message on his eye black during the wild-card win at Pittsburgh, Al-Shaair was told he'd not be permitted to play in the divisional round at New England if he tried to do it again.
"I’ll take care of his fine," Irving said on social media, via ESPN.
Al-Shaair, who was fined in January for wearing "stop the genocide" on his eye-black strips, played Sunday's game with the name "Hind Rajab" written in the space. The five-year-old girl was killed by Israeli forces, along with six members of her family, when their car came under fire in Gaza City in 2024.
The league generally prohibits any personal messaging without prior approval.
The league also prohibits the payment of fines by anyone other than the person being fined. But that can't stop Irving from giving Al-Shaair a gift in the amount of, say, $11,941, if Irving so chooses.
And while Al-Shaair is doing well enough to pay the fine on his own, with a contract that pays out on average $18 million per year, Irving is making nearly $40 million in 2026-27.
The next question is whether Al-Shaair will try to do it again in Week 2 against the Bengals, and whether he'll be prevented from playing. After he was fined for having the message on his eye black during the wild-card win at Pittsburgh, Al-Shaair was told he'd not be permitted to play in the divisional round at New England if he tried to do it again.