On Jan. 12, the Houston Texans dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers en route to a 30-6 victory in the Wild Card playoff game. After the game, Pro Bowl linebacker and defensive captain Azeez Al-Shaair appeared on ESPN for an interview with the words “Stop The Genocide” written in white letters across his eye black.
Al-Shaair was fined $11,593 USD by the National Football League (NFL), which called his show of solidarity a “violation of the NFL uniform and equipment rules.” This is the standard fine for a first-time violation of the personal message policy—the same fine that San Francisco 49ers star Nick Bosa received for wearing a Make America Great Again hat during a post-game interview, and also the same fine Dallas Cowboys receiver George Pickens received for writing “Open Fucking Always” on his eyeblack.
The NFL is notoriously strict on uniforms. Former NFL lineman Isaac Rochell shared that he had been fined twice for uniform violations, totalling over $11,000 USD—once because his socks were not covering his knees, and on another occasion because his undershirt was visible below the cutoff of his jersey. The league’s most infamous fines came against two Pittsburgh Steelers in October 2015. Defensive back William Gay received a fine for wearing purple cleats as a show of support for domestic violence victims—Gay’s mother was killed by his stepfather when he was seven years old. Meanwhile, running back DeAngelo Williams was fined for writing “Find the Cure” on his eye black, honouring his mom who died of breast cancer.
Al-Shaair knew the fine was coming, and seemingly accepted it as the price of his activism. He has consistently been a vocal advocate for peace in the region, being one of only two NFL players to sign the Athletes for Ceasefire letter directed toward U.S. President Joe Biden in 2024. Additionally, he supported the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund during the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign.
Al-Shaair has received criticism for his activism online, with author Kevin Deutsch going so far as to say that Al-Shaair’s message is one spread “by those who seek a genocide of Israelis” and that his message has “helped fuel widespread discrimination, vandalism, harassment, and violence against Jews globally.” Al-Shaair has publicly condemned the attacks of Oct. 7 and violence against Israel, stating, “on either side, people losing their life is not right. In no way, shape or form am I validating anything that happened.” He simply does not want to see children die because of where they were born, stating “I have no affiliation, no connection to these people other than the fact I’m a human being.”
Despite Al-Shaair and Bosa’s differing views, both should be allowed to use their platform to speak about politics. The NFL has tried to remove politics from sport in order to appease a certain ‘shut up and dribble’ crowd, something that is, frankly, wrong. Sports, as a source of soft power, are political in nature. Whether it is the NFL constantly pushing the American flag and military imagery upon fans or nation-states attempting to distract from abhorrent human rights violations, sports are constantly used for political gain. Qatar hosted a World Cup in stadiums built by exploited migrant workers through a system akin to modern-day slavery. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is trying to become the global centre of sport while simultaneously killing its own citizens in order to clear land for megaprojects. Even in 1936, Nazi Germany hosted the Olympics as a massive propaganda campaign to make Germany appear peaceful.
Even in less intentional examples, such as Canada winning the Four Nations Faceoff or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning NBA MVP, sports have the power to make us proud of where we come from and shape national identity. Sports are woven into the fabric of our societies, as are the politics that shape them. Al-Shaair understands that his activism may make sports fans uncomfortable, but his opinions should never cost him thousands.
