{"id":4854,"date":"2026-09-21T12:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T12:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4854"},"modified":"2026-09-21T12:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T12:22:13","slug":"nfls-azeez-al-shaair-pays-tribute-to-slain-palestinian-girl-wafaa-akila-american-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4854","title":{"rendered":"NFL\u2019s Azeez Al-Shaair pays tribute to slain Palestinian girl Wafaa Akila | American Football"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Al-Shaair wears eye black with Akila\u2019s name despite being fined for displaying messages about Israel\u2019s genocide in Gaza.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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American football player Azeez Al-Shaair has persisted with his stance on raising awareness about slain Palestinian children by wearing eye black bearing the name of Wafaa Akila, an eight-year-old girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, during his latest appearance in the National Football League (NFL).<\/p>\n

The Houston Texans\u2019 linebacker wore the black tape across his nose during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, days after he wore the name of Hind Rajab<\/a> on his eye black, which led to an $11,941 fine by the NFL as he breached the league\u2019s code of conduct on players\u2019 clothing and equipment during a match against the Buffalo Bills on September 13.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

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However, basketball player Kyrie Irving stepped in and offered to pay the fine for Al-Shaair, who later confirmed that he had been in touch with the nine-time NBA All-Star.<\/p>\n

Al-Shaair brushed off talk of the fine while speaking to reporters last week. \u201cIt\u2019s bigger to me; what\u2019s a life worth? Is a life worth $11,000? No, I think it\u2019s priceless,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In his first match appearance since being fined, Al-Shaair took the field with \u201cWafaa Akila\u201d written on his eye black, a sticker or paint frequently used by NFL players to reduce glare.<\/p>\n

On September 6, the first day of school for the eight-year-old, she was killed along with her father in an Israeli attack in western Gaza as they were making their way home.<\/p>\n

The Israeli drone struck their car, leaving it burned and charred, with only a few pages of Akila\u2019s school books surviving the horrific attack. A few hours earlier, a smiling Akila posed for a photo before setting off for her first day of school.<\/p>\n

The Israeli genocide in Gaza has severely limited education for the Strip\u2019s 660,000 children, with 90 percent of schools left damaged or destroyed.<\/p>\n

Israel has killed at least 21,500 children since October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Akila\u2019s death was similar to that of Rajab, aged five, who was killed in Gaza after Israeli soldiers opened fire on her family\u2019s stranded car on January 29, 2024. A phone call by the Palestine Red Crescent Society documented<\/a> her final moments and was the subject of an Oscar-nominated docudrama.<\/p>\n

Al-Shaair shared posts about Akila, as well as her mother\u2019s reaction to the killing, on his Instagram account on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Following the Texans\u2019 match against the Bengals, a social media user posted a video that showed Al-Shaair interacting with children \u2013 some sporting keffiyehs, others who were amputees and were holding posters in support of the player \u2013 on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

\u2018Be like Azeez Al-Shaair\u2019<\/h2>\n

Al-Shaair, a Black American Muslim player, has frequently spoken about the plight of Palestinians and has paid the price for it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He was also fined in January, during the NFL\u2019s last season, for displaying the message \u201cStop The Genocide\u201d on his nose tape. While it did not specifically refer to a particular conflict, it was widely understood to be about Gaza and Sudan.<\/p>\n

Prominent American Muslim scholar Omar Suleiman has repeatedly voiced his support for Al-Shaair.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy 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,\u201d Suleiman wrote about Al-Shaair in a social media post on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NFL\u2019s fine on Al-Shaair comes at a time when Robert Kraft<\/a>, owner of the Boston-based team New England Patriots, confirmed that he pressured pop star Ed Sheeran to drop rapper Macklemore<\/a> from his tour of the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Al-Shaair wears eye black with Akila\u2019s name despite being fined for displaying messages about Israel\u2019s genocide in Gaza. American football player Azeez Al-Shaair has persisted with his stance on raising awareness about slain Palestinian children by wearing eye black bearing the name of Wafaa Akila, an eight-year-old girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, during…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t