Peaceful protest is nothing new to sports in the United States. From John Carlos and Tommie Smith in the 1968 summer Olympics, to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf during the 1996 NBA season, using the platform of sports to convey a grievance against injustice is nothing new in our cultural zeitgeist.
However, I am old enough to remember the national and local reaction to the moment when Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem to protest white supremacy and its historic policing strategies. I felt that the discourse behind this action was aimed more at Kaepernick than the injustice he was peacefully protesting against. History agrees, as Kaep would go on to be blackballed from the NFL in 2017. The past shows us that prominent spectacles in entertainment have a way of neutralizing any voice that might harm the bottom line: the almighty dollar.
This act of neutralizing shows up first as a tragedy, and second as farce. Since the tailend of the 2025 NFL season, Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair has written pro-Palestinan messages on his eyeblack. Al-Shaair has been fined around 40,000 total for these messages since the end of last season, which is permitted under NFL rule. The NFL’s rulebook states under rule 5, section 4, article 8 that “players are prohibited from wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office.” Later on in the article, it states that the message must be “non-controversial.” Makes one wonder who gets to determine what is “controversial,” and who benefits from such a decision? The past month has solidified that question.
The practice of writing messages on eyeblack is one that has been employed since the late 2000s, spearheaded by college superstars Reggie Bush and Tim Tebow. Today, players use this device for religious and familial purposes, knowing they’ll face a small fine, which most players are willing to take. This action is never met with a 24/7 news storm at the player’s expense. Al-Shaair’s treatment from the NFL has reached further than just the ordinary fines players face when they commit the minor uniform infraction. During a week two contest against the Cincinnati Bengals, NFL officials told Al-Shaair he must remove his eyeblack bearing the name of Wafaa Akila (an eight year-old Palestinian girl killed by an Israeli airstrike) or he’d face removal from the contest. This isn’t the first time Al-Shaair has been threatened by the league office for his pro-Palestinian messaging. After he wrote “stop the genocide” on his eyeblack in a playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this year, he recvied a message from league officials that were he to do that again, he’d face a ban.
The National Football League is known for its social justice messaging in the back of endzones, along with events to fight against cancer, honoring the military, and My Cause My Cleats. These events signify that that league is committed to altruism and social justice beyond the average bureaucratic display. Social justice in this case only applies to this approved list of topics, ripe for corporate picking. Recent history shows a shallow backbone when it comes to doing the right thing. Just a handful of years ago, quarterback Deshaun Watson was found to be a serial abuser, with 20+ accusers. Yet, he continues to play until this day, with the league framing his “comeback” as a redemption story, making Al-Shaair’s unjust treatment no surprise given the league’s constant bending of the knee.