Kyrie offers to pay Al-Shaair's fine for tribute to slain Palestinian girl

Kyrie Irving has offered to pay Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair's $11,941 fine for having the name of a Palestinian girl killed in Gaza written on his eye black during Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills.

The fine is standard procedure by the NFL, whose uniform and equipment rules prohibit players from displaying personal messages without prior approval.

The girl, named Hind Rajab, was killed by Israeli forces along with six members of her family after their car came under fire in Gaza City in 2024. The Israeli military acknowledged for the first time last month that it opened fire on the vehicle carrying Rajab's family and said it had opened a criminal investigation into the killing.

Al-Shaair was hit with a similar fine in January for displaying the message "stop the genocide" on his eye black during a game last season. Al-Shaair, who is Muslim, has aided Palestinians on the field by wearing cleats to support Palestinian causes through the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats" program over the past few seasons.

"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 last season.

Irving has also been a leading figure in showing public support for Palestinians, posting about the needs of Palestinian children on social media and wearing shirts honoring journalists killed in Gaza.