FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – For Texans Pro Bowl linebacker and team captain Azeez Al-Shaair being fined $11,593 by the league for violating the NFL rulebook governing unauthorized personal messages is something he takes in stride.
Al-Shaair wore eye black on his face with the message: “Stop The Genocide” against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Al-Shaair is an outspoken advocate for peace in the Middle East and protecting Palestine. He regularly hosts children at games at NRG Stadium who are amputees that have been impacted by the violence in the Middle East.
Al-Shaair, a devout Muslim who is devoted to raising awareness to stop the bombing in Gaza, was going to wear the message again Sunday in a playoff game against the New England Patriots. When informed he wouldn’t be allowed to play if he wore them again, the Texans’ Walter Payton Man of the Year honoree compromised. He wore the message during pregame drills before taking them off before kickoff.
“At the end of the day, it’s bigger than me,” Al-Shaair told KPRC 2 after losing to the Patriots. “The things that are going on make people uncomfortable, imagine how those people feel. I think that’s the biggest thing. I have no affiliation, no 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 you can see what’s going on in the world and you check yourself real quick. Even when I’m walking off this field, that’s the type of stuff that goes through my head that I have to check myself when I’m sitting here crying about football when there’s people dying every single day.”
#Texans Azeez Al-Shaair on being fined by #NFL 'I understand it's a fine. It's bigger than me. It makes people uncomfortable. Imagine how those people feel? There's people dying. I'm a human being and I care' @KPRC2 https://t.co/Wy5tfPadmF pic.twitter.com/fMcKTMZIl3
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 19, 2026
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- And that's a wrap, an ice-cold one, on #Texans season, a disappointing and frustrating end in a loss to the #Patriots following a resurgent finish after an 0-3 start. A pivotal offseason ahead @KPRC2 @KPRC2RandyMc @KPRCNick #NFLPlayoffs2026 pic.twitter.com/OLB3Hh9IjW
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 19, 2026
It bothered Al-Shaair, who recorded nine tackles and recovered two fumbles Sunday, that Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs, his former teammate, has had messages on his face and been allowed to play.
“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. “That was probably the part that I was confused about, because I understood it was a fine, but I ain’t never seen Stef get pulled out of the game for having eye tape with writing on it.”
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Much more on Sports Sunday regarding #Texans season coming to a bitter end in another AFC divisional round loss, third year in a row third time overall to #Patriots, now 0-7 all-time at this stage of postseason.@KPRC2@KPRC2RandyMc@KPRCNick#NFLPlayoffs2026 https://t.co/kNZ98JZqgS pic.twitter.com/QlAdBNbDhD
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 19, 2026
Al-Shaair was informed in a letter by the league office, that he was in violation of the Rule 6, Section 4, Article 8 of the NFL rulebook.
That states: {Throughout the period on game day that a player is visible to the stadium and television audience (including in pregame warmups, in the bench area, and during postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field), players are prohibited from wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office.”
Al-Shaair emphasized he won’t be deterred by the NFL discipline.
He wears customized cleats during the annual “My Cause, My Cleats” initiative. The cleats, one season again, had a passage from the Quran: “Surely to Allah we belong and to him we will all return.”
The Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations took issue with the fine from the league office.
“Should have no problem with an NFL player opposing genocide, whether the genocide is in Gaza or Sudan or elsewhere,” they said in a statement. “It should approve the use of the slogan ‘Stop the Genocide’ going forward. Azeez Al-Shaair’s message was rooted in basic human decency and concern for innocent lives. That should not be controversial, much less subject to a fine.”
#Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was fined $11,593 by #NFL per a league source for eye black with a personal message. In his case, vs. #Steelers, Al-Shaair emphasized his advovacy for peace
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 18, 2026
Here is the full rulebook explanation governing this
rulebook:
Rule 6, Section 4,… pic.twitter.com/GBGHyujwth
Al-Shaair is referring to Palestinians killed by Israel’s military operations in Gaza that followed a deadly Hamas attack. Israel has denied genocide allegations, calling that antisemitism.
MORE ON SUNDAY’S ACTION: Texans look to make history Sunday: ‘Round 2 isn’t good enough .. do something that’s never been done for this city’
Al-Shaair, in the NFL’s annual My Cause, My Cleats campaign, wore cleats advocating for protecting Palestine.
“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.
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com