A month after Kyrie Irving offered to cover Azeez Al-Shaair's fine for his eye black that honored a murdered Palestinian girl, the NBA player explained why.

Speaking to reporters, Irving explained why he wanted to help Al-Shaair, whom he called a “friend” and a “brother.” Together, they are fighting a “revolution.”

“He's a friend of mine. He's a brother that I consider in this revolution that a lot of this generation is building,” he explained. “It's a selfless act when you can show up for others that don't necessarily have a voice for themselves.”

Kyrie Irving on why it was important for him to say he’d pay the fine for Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair, who wore the name Hind Rajab on his eye black during Week 1. Rajab was a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza in Jan. 2024.

“He’s a friend of mine. He’s a brother that I… pic.twitter.com/dBxaeG7qjx

— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) October 22, 2026

He believes that people have to “stand up” for what they believe in. This can even be done with “small instances of revolutionary acts,” such as Al-Shaair wearing Hind Rajab's name on his eye black. It can show how “selfless” you are. Irving didn't, however, reveal whether or not he paid Al-Shaair's fine.

The NFL fined Al-Shaair $11,492 for writing Rajab's name on his eye black. She was a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by the Israeli military in 2024.

In the wake of the news, Irving offered to pay his fine. He responded to a report about the fine on X, formerly Twitter, saying, “I'll take care of his fine.”

This was not the first instance of Al-Shaair delivering a message with his eye black. During a playoff game in January 2026, he wrote, “Stop The Genocide,” on his eye black, resulting in a $11,593 fine from the NFL.

Al-Shaair is in the middle of his third season with the Houston Texans. He spent time with the San Francisco 49ers and the Tennessee Titans earlier in his career. The Texans are on a two-game win streak after starting the season 0-4. Al-Shaair has 49 tackles (20 solo, 29 assists) in five games. He missed the team's Week 4 game against the Dallas Cowboys.