Azeez Al-Shaair forced to remove name of slain Palestinian girl from eyeblack

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was compelled to remove an eyeblack featuring the name of Wafaa Akila, an eight-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on her first day of school, from his helmet last week, according to The Athletic. The incident came to light after Week 1 when the NFL penalized Al-Shaair for inscribing the name of the Palestinian girl who died in Gaza on his eyeblack during a game.

With the name "Wafaa Akila" written on his eyeblack, Al-Shaair started the Texans' Week 2 match against the Cincinnati Bengals. Upon identification by an NFL official, Al-Shaair was instructed to erase the name or face disqualification from playing in the game, a league source disclosed to The Athletic. Although Al-Shaair received a fine of $11,941 in Week 1, he did not incur any additional penalty in Week 2, as per a league source.