NBA’s Irving praises Al-Shaair’s ‘selfless act’ after Hind Rajab fine paid

NBA star Kyrie Irving has opened up about his decision to pay a fine for American football player Azeez Al-Shaair, who was penalised in September for wearing the name of Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

“Azeez is a friend of mine,” Irving told reporters, after suffering an opening night 128-110 defeat with Dallas Mavericks in the match against Houston Rockets late on Wednesday.

“He’s a brother that I consider in this revolution this generation is building. It’s a selfless act when you can show up for others who don’t necessarily have a voice for themselves,” said Irving, who has been vocal in his support for Palestine.

Al-Shaair has used his social media accounts and his eyeblack, a tape worn by athletes to reduce glare, to bring attention to the killings of Palestinians in the three years of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

The Black American Muslim player began his current NFL season by wearing Rajab’s name on September 13. The five-year-old girl was killed in Gaza after Israeli soldiers opened fire on her family’s stranded car on January 29, 2024.

For that, Al-Shaair was handed a fine of $11,941 by the National Football League (NFL). Shortly after the fine was announced by an NFL reporter on X, Irving responded to the tweet by saying he would “take care” of it.

“I think we assume that most of us know what’s happening around the world globally,” Irving said on Wednesday. “There are a lot of innocent people who have lost their lives, children especially.

“Us here in America, we get the luxury of going to bed at night in our nice bedrooms, things paid for, but when our tax dollars are going towards other things that we don’t necessarily agree with, then you have to stand up.

“I think small instances of revolutionary acts like wearing people’s names or wearing a child’s name like Hind Rajab on your face and taking a fine and stepping up to the plate, it just shows how much you’re a selfless person, how much you’re willing to sacrifice,” Irving said.

“This mission is bigger than me and Azeez and we know that, but our strength and solidarity and how connected we are and how united we are in our efforts.”

Despite being fined and reportedly threatened with removal from games, Al-Shaair has remained undeterred.

When asked, he brushed off the fine regarding Rajab, saying: “It’s bigger to me; what’s a life worth? Is a life worth $11,000? No, I think it’s priceless.”

He has continued to raise awareness about the slain children by wearing a name, or combination of names, every Sunday.

After honouring Rajab, Al-Shaair took the field against the Cincinnati Bengals wearing the name of Wafa Akila, an eight-year-old who was killed along with her father in an Israeli attack in western Gaza as they were making their way home.

In Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts, Al-Shaair’s eye black had the names of sisters Lana and Bana Ahmad on it. The 12- and eight-year-old girls were killed along with their family in an Israeli air attack in September.

The Houston Texans’ linebacker then wore the name of Amal Abu Khater, 10, who died from gunshot wounds after Israeli forces fired on her in Khan Younis in August.

Al-Shaair’s latest tribute was to slain Palestinian toddler Maryam Ghanem, a two-and-a-half-year-old girl in Gaza who was forced to watch her mother burn alive after an Israeli strike hit their home in the Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City earlier this month.