during the Texans' 30-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs. Hours before the team's divisional round game against the New England Patriots, the league announced it had fined Al-Shaair. The nature of the message was not the reason for the fine, but the mere existence of it violated the NFL's policy against including a personal message on one's person. He was fined more than $11,000 for the message.
Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair has been fined $11,593 for wearing eye black that contained the message "stop the genocide" during last week's wild-card game, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Sunday. Al-Shaair was fined for violating NFL uniform and equipment rules by wearing eye black that contained a personal message. The message was in reference to concerns over Israel's policies in Gaza, where tens of thousands have been killed in Israeli military operations following the deadly Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.