Azeez Al-Shaair spoke to the media Friday, two days after Kyrie Irving pledged to pay the fine levied by the NFL to the Houston Texans linebacker for having the name of Hind Rajab, a slain Palestinian girl, on his eye black this past Sunday.
“We’ve talked multiple times, especially in the last week,” Al-Shaair said. “I think the biggest this is we align on the cause, which is humanity. Regardless of skin color, race anything, that’s the biggest thing I think we align on.
“It’s pretty black and white. We don’t have to have all the answers to everything to know that an innocent man, innocent woman or innocent child losing their life is not right.”
Al-Shaair, who is Muslim, was also fined $11,593 by the NFL in January for writing “stop the genocide” on his eye black during the Texans’ wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to ESPN. He has supported Palestinian causes on the field the past few seasons through the NFL’s “My Cause, My Cleats” program.
“If my platform can bring even a little hope to families in Palestine, then that is what I want to use it for,” he said in a statement earlier last season.
Irving converted to Islam in 2021 during his second season with the Brooklyn Nets and has been a frequent proponent of Palestinian advocacy and other causes.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 people, including tens of thousands of women and children, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. Rights groups and U.N. commissions have said the campaign amounts to genocide and that Israeli forces have committed a litany of war crimes, including indiscriminate use of force and deliberate killings of civilians.
Israel denies accusations of genocide and war crimes and says it is targeting Hamas after its October 2023 attack on southern Israel. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militant group operates in populated areas in the tiny, overcrowded strip.
Israeli officials contend the country’s justice system can address any violations by its troops, but rights groups say soldiers are almost never held accountable.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.