Azeez Al-Shaair Honors Slain Palestinian Schoolgirl Wafaa Akila During NFL Game

The Houston Texans linebacker wore Akila’s name on his eye black after being fined by the NFL for earlier messages about the war in Gaza.

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair has continued using his NFL platform to draw attention to Palestinian children killed in Gaza, wearing the name of eight-year-old Wafaa Akila on his eye black during the team’s latest game.

Al-Shaair wore the black tape across his nose during Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, days after the NFL fined him $11,941 for displaying the name of five-year-old Hind Rajab during a September 13 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, citing league rules governing player uniforms and equipment.

NBA star Kyrie Irving later offered to pay the fine, and Al-Shaair confirmed that he had been in contact with the nine-time All-Star.

Al-Shaair downplayed the penalty when speaking to reporters last week. “It’s bigger to me; what’s a life worth? Is a life worth $11,000? No, I think it’s priceless,” he said.

In his first game appearance since the fine, Al-Shaair returned to the field with “Wafaa Akila” written on his eye black, the dark sticker or paint NFL players commonly use to reduce glare.

Akila was killed on September 6, her first day of school, alongside her father in an Israeli attack in western Gaza as they were heading home.

An Israeli drone strike hit their vehicle, leaving it burned and badly damaged. Only a few pages from Akila’s schoolbooks survived the attack. Hours earlier, the smiling child had posed for a photograph before leaving for school.

The war in Gaza has severely disrupted education for the enclave’s 660,000 children, with 90 percent of schools reportedly damaged or destroyed.

Israel has killed at least 21,500 children since October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Akila’s killing drew comparisons to the death of Hind Rajab, who was five when she was killed after Israeli soldiers opened fire on her family’s stranded car on January 29, 2024. A phone call handled by the Palestine Red Crescent Society captured Rajab’s final moments and later became the basis of an Oscar-nominated docudrama.

On Sunday, Al-Shaair shared posts on Instagram about Akila and her mother’s reaction to her death.

After the Texans’ game against the Bengals, a social media user posted a video showing Al-Shaair speaking with children on the sidelines. Some wore keffiyehs, while others, including child amputees, carried signs supporting the player.

‘Be like Azeez Al-Shaair’

As a Black American Muslim athlete, Al-Shaair has frequently spoken out about the suffering of Palestinians and has faced consequences for doing so.

He was also fined in January during the previous NFL season for wearing the message “Stop The Genocide” on his nose tape. Although the phrase did not name a specific conflict, it was widely interpreted as a reference to Gaza and Sudan.

American Muslim scholar Omar Suleiman has repeatedly expressed support for Al-Shaair.

“My brother, who went to Jordan to be with Palestinian refugees this summer, who spends time with Palestinian children with missing limbs in Houston, who is using every week of his Pro Bowl NFL career to honour a Palestinian child despite the fines,” Suleiman wrote about Al-Shaair in a social media post on Sunday.

“In the sports and entertainment arenas run by many of the same types of people who run government, choose to be like Azeez Al-Shaair, Kyrie, and Macklemore.”

The NFL’s penalty against Al-Shaair comes as New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirmed that he pressured pop star Ed Sheeran to remove rapper Macklemore from his United States tour.

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