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An NFL official reportedly threatened to remove Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair from his game earlier this month unless he removed his memorial for an 8-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israel in Gaza.

truthout.orgNFL Threatened to Ban Player From Game for Honoring Slain Palestinian GirlTexans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair wrote Wafaa Akila, the name of an 8-year-old girl killed by Israel, on his face tape.

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During the Texans’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 20, Al-Shaair wrote the name of Wafaa Akila on his eye black. Wafaa was an 8-year-old girl who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on September 6. She and her father were on their way home from her first day of school.

29/9/26, 8:35 pm10 reposts35 likes

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The linebacker’s latest tribute came just days after the NFL gave him an $11,941 fine for writing Hind Rajab’s name on his eye black during another game. In a show of solidarity, Dallas Mavericks player Kyrie Irving said in a post on social media that he would “take care of his fine.”

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“It’s bigger to me. What’s a life worth? Is a life worth $11,000? I think it’s priceless,” said Al-Shaair when asked about the penalty. “You can’t get so lost in your own problems that you can’t have compassion for other people in the world,” he went on.