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Kyrie Irving offers to pay Azeez Al-Shaair's NFL fine for eye black tribute

Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Sep 16, 2026, 8:12 PM

Last updated Sep 16, 2026

Kyrie Irving offers to pay Azeez Al-Shaair's NFL fine for eye black tribute

Summary

Kyrie Irving has offered to cover the $11,492 fine imposed on Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair for displaying the name of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab on his eye black during an NFL game. Al-Shaair incurred the penalty during Houston's season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills. The league prohibits unauthorized personal messages on game equipment. This is Al-Shaair's second fine linked to protests related to Gaza. Irving has publicly supported Al-Shaair's advocacy, reflecting his own stance on Palestinian issues.

Source Links

Yahoo Sports

By the Numbers

•Azeez Al-Shaair faced a fine for eye black message against the Bills.
•The NFL enforces rules against unauthorized player messages.
•Al-Shaair previously advocated for Palestinian issues on his uniform.
•Kyrie Irving has consistently supported Palestinian causes.
•Al-Shaair has stated his advocacy is larger than football.

Latest Updates

8:12 PMYahoo Sports — Kyrie Irving backs Azeez Al-Shaair with $11k offer for pro-Palestine message

What they're saying

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Kyrie Irving has built a reputation for making outlandish claims and draw attention in interesting ways. But he has also been known to be very forward-thinking. That appears to have...
— Yahoo Sports

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