IN 1931, FUTURE French president Charles de Gaulle published an essay titled ‘Of Prestige’ in a French military journal. In a paragraph about famous speeches, de Gaulle used a phrase that is often wrongly attributed to Leonardo da Vinci: “nothing enhances authority better than silence.”
The correct way to protest and the right way to make your feelings known have been very much to the forefront of Irish minds this week. But across the Atlantic, the plight of the Palestinian people — and what is considered an appropriate protest — is gaining traction in the sporting world thanks to the actions of Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
Last season, Al-Shaair was fined for wearing eye black — the black makeup NFL players wear to prevent glare from the sun or stadium lights getting into their eyes — with the words ‘stop the genocide’ written on it during the Texans’ playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Message
Despite this, the following week he wore the same message while taking part in warmups before the Texans’ playoff loss to the New England Patriots. Under pressure from team management and the league, he removed the message before the game kicked off.
That, it was thought, was that.
But in week one of this season, Al-Shaair was fined $11,941 (€10,000) by the NFL for writing the name of a Palestinian girl killed by Israel on his eye black. The name he wore was that of Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl murdered, along with six family members, in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces in 2024.
Speaking after he received the fine, Al-Shaair told the media he never even considered the monetary impact of his protest.
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“What’s a life worth? Is a life worth $11,000 (€10,000)? I think it’s priceless. So, to sit there and say that, ‘Oh man, the money’ and whatever, that wasn’t relevant to me.”
So it came as no surprise that Al-Shaair continued his protest in week two’s defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals. This time, the linebacker wore the name of Wafaa Akila, an 8-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israel earlier this month during an airstrike.
Houston Texans linebacker Azeez al-Shaair (0) looks on prior to an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
However, during that game, the former 49ers and Titans linebacker was informed by league officials that he would have to remove the eye black or he would not be permitted to continue playing in the game. He did so.
Policy
The NFL has a very strict uniform policy. Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown and star Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby have both had to change their boots during games in recent years, after calls came down from the league office that they were non-conforming. Crosby’s violation was wearing pink boots to honour his daughters, while Brown’s ‘highlighter’ green ones were so his young child could spot him on TV.
The boots were considered ‘personal messages’ and fall under Rule 5 of the league’s rulebook. This is the same rule that the NFL are using to silence Al-Shaair, who continued his protest in week three wearing the names of Lana (12) and Bana (8) Ahmed who were killed alongside their family in an Israeli attack earlier this month.
Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) warms up on the field during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
And while it’s easy to argue that ‘rules are rules’ and the NFL’s actions are non-political, it’s hard to take that at face value from an organisation that dedicates an entire month to promoting US armed forces with their ‘Salute to Service’ campaign.
The reaction to Al-Shaair’s protest, as you can imagine, has been very much divided along political lines in the US. Newsmax regular, and former Adventures of Hercules actor, Kevin Sorbo stated that political activism in sports is “inappropriate”.
He went on to say that athletes should keep their political messages outside of football stadiums and take them online or to interviews instead. Which sounds very like the rhetoric surrounding Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the US national anthem.
Backers
But Al-Shaair has his backers too. NBA star Kyrie Irving, himself a vocal advocate of Palestinian rights, has offered to pay his fine. While the prominent American Muslim commentator Omar Suleiman questioned the perceived double standards around the NFL’s rules, asking if Al-Shaair would have faced a similar punishment had his eyeblack carried the name of Holocaust victim Anne Frank instead.
“Why is honouring murdered Palestinian children ‘an unauthorised message’?” he posted to X.
This all comes against the backdrop of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s role in Macklemore leaving Ed Sheeran’s US tour following the rapper’s on stage support for Palestine.
And while Al-Shaair’s protest has yet to achieve that level of scrutiny, should he continue with it, and should the fines keep coming, it’s hard to imagine how it won’t.
Especially as the Texans play America’s team, the Cowboys, in Dallas this coming Sunday.
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The plight of Palestinian people - and what is considered an appropriate protest - gains traction in NFL
IN 1931, FUTURE French president Charles de Gaulle published an essay titled ‘Of Prestige’ in a French military journal. In a paragraph about famous speeches, de Gaulle used a phrase that is often wrongly attributed to Leonardo da Vinci: “nothing enhances authority better than silence.”
The correct way to protest and the right way to make your feelings known have been very much to the forefront of Irish minds this week. But across the Atlantic, the plight of the Palestinian people — and what is considered an appropriate protest — is gaining traction in the sporting world thanks to the actions of Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
Last season, Al-Shaair was fined for wearing eye black — the black makeup NFL players wear to prevent glare from the sun or stadium lights getting into their eyes — with the words ‘stop the genocide’ written on it during the Texans’ playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Message
Despite this, the following week he wore the same message while taking part in warmups before the Texans’ playoff loss to the New England Patriots. Under pressure from team management and the league, he removed the message before the game kicked off.
That, it was thought, was that.
But in week one of this season, Al-Shaair was fined $11,941 (€10,000) by the NFL for writing the name of a Palestinian girl killed by Israel on his eye black. The name he wore was that of Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl murdered, along with six family members, in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces in 2024.
Speaking after he received the fine, Al-Shaair told the media he never even considered the monetary impact of his protest.
“What’s a life worth? Is a life worth $11,000 (€10,000)? I think it’s priceless. So, to sit there and say that, ‘Oh man, the money’ and whatever, that wasn’t relevant to me.”
So it came as no surprise that Al-Shaair continued his protest in week two’s defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals. This time, the linebacker wore the name of Wafaa Akila, an 8-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israel earlier this month during an airstrike.
However, during that game, the former 49ers and Titans linebacker was informed by league officials that he would have to remove the eye black or he would not be permitted to continue playing in the game. He did so.
Policy
The NFL has a very strict uniform policy. Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown and star Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby have both had to change their boots during games in recent years, after calls came down from the league office that they were non-conforming. Crosby’s violation was wearing pink boots to honour his daughters, while Brown’s ‘highlighter’ green ones were so his young child could spot him on TV.
The boots were considered ‘personal messages’ and fall under Rule 5 of the league’s rulebook. This is the same rule that the NFL are using to silence Al-Shaair, who continued his protest in week three wearing the names of Lana (12) and Bana (8) Ahmed who were killed alongside their family in an Israeli attack earlier this month.
And while it’s easy to argue that ‘rules are rules’ and the NFL’s actions are non-political, it’s hard to take that at face value from an organisation that dedicates an entire month to promoting US armed forces with their ‘Salute to Service’ campaign.
The reaction to Al-Shaair’s protest, as you can imagine, has been very much divided along political lines in the US. Newsmax regular, and former Adventures of Hercules actor, Kevin Sorbo stated that political activism in sports is “inappropriate”.
He went on to say that athletes should keep their political messages outside of football stadiums and take them online or to interviews instead. Which sounds very like the rhetoric surrounding Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the US national anthem.
Backers
But Al-Shaair has his backers too. NBA star Kyrie Irving, himself a vocal advocate of Palestinian rights, has offered to pay his fine. While the prominent American Muslim commentator Omar Suleiman questioned the perceived double standards around the NFL’s rules, asking if Al-Shaair would have faced a similar punishment had his eyeblack carried the name of Holocaust victim Anne Frank instead.
“Why is honouring murdered Palestinian children ‘an unauthorised message’?” he posted to X.
This all comes against the backdrop of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s role in Macklemore leaving Ed Sheeran’s US tour following the rapper’s on stage support for Palestine.
And while Al-Shaair’s protest has yet to achieve that level of scrutiny, should he continue with it, and should the fines keep coming, it’s hard to imagine how it won’t.
Especially as the Texans play America’s team, the Cowboys, in Dallas this coming Sunday.
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