American football player Azeez Al-Shaair has persisted with his stance on raising awareness about slain Palestinian children by wearing eye black bearing the name of Wafaa Akila, an eight-year-old girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, during his latest appearance in the National Football League (NFL).
asserted
Shaair → persist → League
The Houston Texans’ linebacker wore the black tape across his nose during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, days after he wore the name of Hind Rajab on his eye black, which led to an $11,941 fine by the NFL as he breached the league’s code of conduct on players’ clothing and equipment during a match against the Buffalo Bills on September 13.
asserted
he → wear → September
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However, basketball player Kyrie Irving stepped in and offered to pay the fine for Al-Shaair, who later confirmed that he had been in touch with the nine-time NBA All-Star.
asserted
he → take → Star
Al-Shaair brushed off talk of the fine while speaking to reporters last week.
asserted
Shaair → brush → reporters
“It’s bigger to me; what’s a life worth?
asserted
life → ’ → me
No, I think it’s priceless,” he said.
asserted
he → think → ?
In his first match appearance since being fined, Al-Shaair took the field with “Wafaa Akila” written on his eye black, a sticker or paint frequently used by NFL players to reduce glare.
asserted
Shaair → fin → glare
On September 6, the first day of school for the eight-year-old, she was killed along with her father in an Israeli attack in western Gaza as they were making their way home.
asserted
they → kill → way
The Israeli drone struck their car, leaving it burned and charred, with only a few pages of Akila’s school books surviving the horrific attack.
asserted
pages → strike → attack
A few hours earlier, a smiling Akila posed for a photo before setting off for her first day of school.
asserted
Akila → smile → school
The Israeli genocide in Gaza has severely limited education for the Strip’s 660,000 children, with 90 percent of schools left damaged or destroyed.
asserted
percent → limit → schools
Israel has killed at least 21,500 children since October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
uncertain
Israel → kill → Gaza
Akila’s death was similar to that of Rajab, aged five, who was killed in Gaza after Israeli soldiers opened fire on her family’s stranded car on January 29, 2024.
asserted
soldiers → kill → January
A phone call by the Palestine Red Crescent Society documented her final moments and was the subject of an Oscar-nominated docudrama.
asserted
call → document → docudrama
Al-Shaair shared posts about Akila, as well as her mother’s reaction to the killing, on his Instagram account on Sunday.
asserted
Shaair → share → Sunday
Following the Texans’ match against the Bengals, a social media user posted a video that showed Al-Shaair interacting with children – some sporting keffiyehs, others who were amputees and were holding posters in support of the player – on the sidelines.
asserted
who → follow → sidelines
‘Be like Azeez Al-Shaair’
Al-Shaair, a Black American Muslim player, has frequently spoken about the plight of Palestinians and has paid the price for it.
asserted
Shaair → speak → it
He was also fined in January, during the NFL’s last season, for displaying the message “Stop The Genocide” on his nose tape.
asserted
He → fin → tape
While it did not specifically refer to a particular conflict, it was widely understood to be about Gaza and Sudan.
asserted
it → refer → Gaza
Prominent American Muslim scholar Omar Suleiman has repeatedly voiced his support for Al-Shaair.
asserted
Suleiman → voice → Shaair
“My brother, who went to Jordan to be with Palestinian refugees this summer, who spends time with Palestinian children with missing limbs in Houston, who is using every week of his Pro Bowl NFL career to honour a Palestinian child despite the fines,” Suleiman wrote about Al-Shaair in a social media post on Sunday.
asserted
Suleiman → go → Sunday
“In the sports and entertainment arenas run by many of the same types of people who run government, choose to be like Azeez Al-Shaair, Kyrie, and Macklemore.”
The NFL’s fine on Al-Shaair comes at a time when Robert Kraft, owner of the Boston-based team New England Patriots, confirmed that he pressured pop star Ed Sheeran to drop rapper Macklemore from his tour of the United States.
asserted
he → run → States
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