Kyrie Irving explains paying fine and praises Azeez Al-Shaair for continuously honouring slain Palestinian children.<\/p>\n
NBA star Kyrie Irving has opened up about his decision to pay a fine for American football player Azeez Al-Shaair, who was penalised in September for wearing the name of Hind Rajab<\/a>, a Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cAzeez is a friend of mine,\u201d Irving told reporters, after suffering an opening night 128-110 defeat with Dallas Mavericks in the match against Houston Rockets late on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a brother that I consider in this revolution this generation is building. It\u2019s a selfless act when you can show up for others who don\u2019t necessarily have a voice for themselves,\u201d said Irving, who has been vocal in his support for Palestine.<\/p>\n Al-Shaair has used his social media accounts and his eyeblack, a tape worn by athletes to reduce glare, to bring attention to the killings of Palestinians in the three years of Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza.<\/p>\n The Black American Muslim player began his current NFL season by wearing Rajab\u2019s name on September 13. The five-year-old girl was killed in Gaza after Israeli soldiers opened fire on her family\u2019s stranded car on January 29, 2024.<\/p>\n For that, Al-Shaair<\/a> was handed a fine of $11,941 by the National Football League (NFL). Shortly after the fine was announced by an NFL reporter on X, Irving responded<\/a> to the tweet by saying he would \u201ctake care\u201d of it.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we assume that most of us know what\u2019s happening around the world globally,\u201d Irving said on Wednesday. \u201cThere are a lot of innocent people who have lost their lives, children especially.<\/p>\n \u201cUs here in America, we get the luxury of going to bed at night in our nice bedrooms, things paid for, but when our tax dollars are going towards other things that we don\u2019t necessarily agree with, then you have to stand up.<\/p>\n \u201cI think small instances of revolutionary acts like wearing people\u2019s names or wearing a child\u2019s name like Hind Rajab on your face and taking a fine and stepping up to the plate, it just shows how much you\u2019re a selfless person, how much you\u2019re willing to sacrifice,\u201d Irving said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis mission is bigger than me and Azeez and we know that, but our strength and solidarity and how connected we are and how united we are in our efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n Al-Shaair honours Palestinian children for fifth straight week<\/p>\n Despite being fined and reportedly threatened with removal from games, Al-Shaair has remained undeterred.<\/p>\n When asked, he brushed off the fine regarding Rajab, saying: \u201cIt\u2019s bigger to me; what\u2019s a life worth? Is a life worth $11,000? No, I think it\u2019s priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n He has continued to raise awareness about the slain children by wearing a name, or combination of names, every Sunday.<\/p>\n After honouring Rajab, Al-Shaair took the field against the Cincinnati Bengals wearing the name of Wafa Akila<\/a>, an eight-year-old who was killed along with her father in an Israeli attack in western Gaza as they were making their way home.<\/p>\n