The Mavericks star is stepping up to cover an $11,492 penalty after the Texans linebacker used his uniform to spotlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Kyrie Irving is diving head-first into a political controversy as he announced on Wednesday that he is volunteering to pay the NFL fine issued to Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who wrote the name of Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza in 2024, on his eye black during Sunday’s season opener.
The Dallas Mavs standout guard - a critical piece of the NBA team's 2026-27 roster puzzle - made the offer in a post on X.
“I’ll take care of his fine,” Irving wrote.
On Tuesday, the league fined Al-Shaair $11,492 for an unauthorized message on his eye black.
Houston lost 36-31 to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Reliant Stadium. Al-Shaair - a standout player on what might be the NFL's best defense - led the Texans with eight tackles and registered tackle for loss.
NFL rules bar players from wearing, displaying, or conveying personal messages while they are visible to the stadium and television audience unless the league office approves the message in advance.
Al-Shaair still had the eye black on when reporters entered the Texans’ locker room after the game.
Our Grant Afseth writes, "Rajab was killed on Jan. 29, 2024, along with six members of her family, after their car came under fire from Israeli forces in Gaza City. She was trapped in the car with her relatives’ bodies and stayed on the phone with Palestine Red Crescent Society dispatchers for hours. She was found dead 12 days later. In August, the Israeli military acknowledged for the first time that it opened fire on the vehicle and said it had opened a criminal investigation into the killings.
"That investigation also covers the shelling of the ambulance carrying paramedics sent to reach her.''
Al-Shaair has a history of issuing "political statements'' from his NFL platform.
In January, the league fined Al-Shaair $11,593 for writing “Stop the Genocide” on his eye black in Houston’s 30-6 wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Jan. 12.
A week later, Al-Shaair had the same message on his eye black before the divisional-round game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. It was gone once the game started, and Houston lost 28-16.
“They always fine you, but I was told if I wore that in the game, I would be pulled out of the game,” Al-Shaair said after the loss in New England. “That was probably the part that I was confused about ...''
Al-Shaair, who is Muslim, said in January that he has no personal connection to the people in Gaza.
“At the end of the day, it’s bigger than me,” Al-Shaair explained. “The things that are going on make people uncomfortable, [so] imagine how those people feel. I have no affiliation or connection to these people other than the fact that I’m a human being. If you have a heart and you’re a human being, then you can see what’s going on in the world.”
Through the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” program, Al-Shaair has worn cleats supporting the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. His 2024 pair carried the word “FREE” on one side and a verse from the Quran on the other.
“If my platform can bring even a little hope to families in Palestine, then that is what I want to use it for,” Al-Shaair said in a statement last season.
Irving has posted on social media about the needs of Palestinian children in Gaza. He has also worn shirts honoring journalists killed there. At last season’s All-Star Game, he wore a shirt marked “PRESS.” He has worn a chain with the Palestinian flag as well.
