NBA star Kyrie Irving jumps into NFL drama, offers to pay player’s fine for Gaza-themed eye black
Leave it to Kyrie Irving to find a brand-new way to play white knight in someone else’s political circus.
The Dallas Mavericks star is pulling out his wallet yet again, offering to cover the $11,492 fine handed down to Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair after he wrote “Hind Rajab,” a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza in 2024, on his eye black during Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills.
Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks looks on during the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 22, 2024. (Getty Images)
Azeez Al-Shaair of the Houston Texans speaks to his teammates before kickoff against the Pittsburgh Steelers during an AFC Wild Card Playoff game at Acrisure Stadium on Jan. 12, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
When the disciplinary report surfaced on X, Kyrie posted regarding Al-Shaair: “I’ll take care of his fine.”
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The NFL penalized Al-Shaair under strict rules banning unauthorized personal messages on game-day gear. And this is not his first offense.
In January 2026, he took an $11,593 hit for writing “Stop the Genocide” on his eye black during a playoff matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That is on top of his history of cheap shots on the field, including the brutal late hit on a sliding Trevor Lawrence that earned him a three-game suspension.
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Between his vocal Muslim faith and his endless appetite for a spiritual crusade, Kyrie opening his wallet here surprises nobody.
Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks looks on during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 25, 2025, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Getty Images)
In late 2022, while with the Brooklyn Nets, he sparked a massive firestorm by sharing a link to “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” a movie filled with antisemitic tropes, Holocaust denial and claims attributing the slave trade to Jewish people.
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After refusing to unequivocally disavow antisemitism, the Nets suspended Irving for eight games, declaring him “unfit to be associated” with the franchise. An Instagram apology eventually followed, but Kyrie’s habit of using his fortune to back unauthorized political statements clearly is not going anywhere.
Don’t expect any nuance from NFL compliance officers.
That same week, Cardinals backup cornerback Kei’Trel Clark caught a $6,651 penalty simply for putting “Glory Be 2 God” and a peace symbol on his eye black against the Chargers. Clark accepted the penalty on Instagram, writing that he will always “give God the Glory and out loud.”
Geopolitical protest or religious speech, the league seemingly treats all unauthorized eye-black messages the same.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
