Houston, Texas - Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was fined close to $12,000 for wearing the message "Stop the Genocide" on his eye black during the January 13 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the NFL had fined Al-Shaair $11,593 for allegedly violating a rule barring players from wearing personal messages.

The 28-year-old linebacker was spotted with the message on his eye black again ahead of the Texans' Sunday loss to the New England Patriots, though it appeared to be removed later in the game.

"I knew that that was a fine. I understood what I was doing," Al-Shaair told ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime on Sunday. "I was told that if I wore that in the game, I would be pulled out the game, so I think that's the part that I was confused about."

Al-Shaair has been outspoken in support of the Palestinian people. He wore custom cleats during the NFL's My Cause, My Cleats campaign to support the Palestine Children's Relief Fund and has met with families from Gaza receiving medical treatment in Houston.

"At the end of the day, it's bigger than me. There are things going on that make people uncomfortable – imagine how those people feel," the Texans' Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner said.

"I have no affiliation and no connection to these people other than the fact that I'm a human being. If you have a heart and you're a human being, then you can see what's going on in the world," Al-Shaair said.

Al-Shaair has received praise for taking a stand against genocide in spite of the penalty.

"We again applaud Houston Texans player Azeez Al-Shaair for using his platform to call for an end to genocide anywhere and everywhere, and we strongly object to the NFL’s reported decision to fine him for doing so amid pressure from pro-Israel extremists," the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Director of Operations Imran Ghani said in a statement.

CAIR-Houston pointed out that NFL coaches have worn pins from Patriots owner Robert Kraft's "Stand Up to Jewish Hate" campaign without facing punishment.

"If NFL policies truly do require a fine for player who makes a statement as generic as 'Stop the Genocide,' then the NFL needs to revise its policies. But if the NFL singled out Azeez Al-Shaair for punishment because of his anti-genocide message amid a backlash from the Israeli government’s enablers, then the NFL should apologize and reverse the fine," Ghani said.

"Azeez Al-Shaair’s message was rooted in basic human decency and concern for innocent lives. That should not be controversial, much less subject to a fine."

"If my platform can bring even a little hope to families in Palestine, then that is what I want to use it for," Al-Shaair said earlier this season.