Azeez Al-Shaair honours slain sisters Lana and Bana in Week 3 despite NFL crackdown

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair has honoured two more Palestinian children killed in Gaza, wearing the names of sisters Lana and Bana Ahmad on his eye black during Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts — defying continued pressure from the NFL.

Lana, 12, and Bana, eight, were killed along with the rest of their family in an Israeli air attack earlier this month, Al Jazeera reported. Hours before kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium, Al-Shaair posted about the sisters on Instagram alongside a photograph of the tape he would later wear on the field.

It is the third consecutive week the 29-year-old has used his eye black to name a Palestinian child killed in Gaza. In Week 1 he wore the name of five-year-old Hind Rajab against the Buffalo Bills and was fined by the NFL for breaching its rules on players’ clothing and equipment; NBA star Kyrie Irving publicly offered to pay the fine. In Week 2 an NFL official told him to remove the name of eight-year-old Wafaa Akila from his eye black during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals or he would not be allowed to continue playing, according to The Athletic.

Asked last week about the cost of the fines, Al-Shaair told reporters: “What’s a life worth? Is a life worth $11,000? No, I think it’s priceless.”

The Colts won Sunday’s game 19-17.