The activism gesture I want to focus on was very clear to me the moment I read the description for this assignment, and it is a gesture that has spoken to me since I initially saw it. The gesture I am talking about is Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair’s “Stop The Genocide” message written on his eyeblack, bringing attention to the ongoing genocide in Gaza City, Palestine. This is a difficult topic for most people to discuss, and I find it admirable that he had the courage to stand up for his beliefs in an organization that does not tend to look fondly on those who do so.
Al-Shaair adorned this message on his eyeblack during the wildcard game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, according to The Hilltop. He was fined $11,593 by the NFL for violating the NFL uniform and equipment rules by wearing eye black that contained a personal message. Despite receiving this fine, he wore the same message six days later on Jan. 18, but he reportedly took it off due to officials threatening to pull him out of the game against the New England Patriots.
This is not the first time Al-Shaair has spoken up about Palestine, either. According to The Spun, the Texans linebacker has also worn “Free Palestine” cleats with the colors of the Palestinian flag and the number of those killed in Palestine. His cleats were a part of the “My Cause My Cleats” campaign, which aims to raise awareness for causes that NFL players are passionate about. Al-Shaair had worn the cleats two years in a row during training camp as of 2025.
I looked into several different media outlets to see how they covered Al-Shaair’s activism, including news sources from Israel, the state responsible for the genocide in Gaza City. I was expecting to find biased language in the places I looked, but all of the outlets used unbiased language and only reported the facts about Al-Shaair’s activism, including direct quotes from him and giving details about his ongoing support for those currently in Palestine.
The sources I visited were: The Spun, The Hilltop, The Times of Israel, CBS Sports, FOX Sports, The Jerusalem Post, and Daily Mail. There are a lot more sources that covered this gesture of activism, such as The New York Times, NBC Sports, and USA Today. The sources I referenced for this story were the top results when I initially looked up Al-Shaair’s activism, which is interesting. Here are two charts of news source biases.
I chose this activism event because I remember how much it moved me when I first saw it happen back in Jan. 2026. As I said before, I find it admirable that Al-Shaair has spoken up so many times about the ongoing conflict when many are afraid to do so because of public backlash or countless other reasons. I am interested to see what statements the Texans linebacker makes in the future.