During Sunday's game between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, NFL linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair wrote the name Maryam Ghanem on his eyeblack — the strips athletes use to reduce glare — the fifth consecutive week he has used the gesture to memorialize a Palestinian child.
According to accounts of the incident, Ghanem is a 2.5-year-old girl in Gaza who was forced to watch her mother burn to death after an Israeli airstrike hit the family home in the Remal district of Gaza City on Wednesday. Local journalists rescued her after hearing her cries amid the flames engulfing the building. Ghanem was later identified as the only survivor in her family.
She was taken to hospital with severe burns, in a state of shock, clutching her doll and saying: "My hands hurt so much." Maryam lost her father early in the Gaza war and has now lost her mother as well.
According to sources, Israeli airstrikes continue frequently in Gaza despite the US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Al-Shaair, 29, is a Black American Muslim. He began the current NFL season by writing the name of Hind Rajab — a 5-year-old girl killed in Gaza after Israeli soldiers opened fire on the car carrying her trapped family in January 2024 — on his eyeblack on September 13.
The NFL fined him $11,491 for violating the league's uniform and equipment rules in the game against the Buffalo Bills, and some sources say he was also threatened with suspension. The player has nonetheless remained steadfast in his action.
Basketball player Kyrie Irving offered to pay the fine on Al-Shaair's behalf, and Al-Shaair later confirmed he had been in contact with the nine-time NBA All-Star.
Asked about the fine last week, Al-Shaair said: "To me, it's bigger than that; what is a human life worth? Is a human life worth $11,000? No, I think it's priceless."
He continues to raise awareness of the children killed by writing one or more names every Sunday. Prominent American Islamic scholar Omar Suleiman has repeatedly expressed support for Al-Shaair, praising him for using each week of the NFL season to memorialize a Palestinian child despite the fines.
The fine against Al-Shaair came as Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, confirmed he had pressured singer Ed Sheeran to drop rapper Macklemore from his US tour.
