On Tuesday, the NFL announced a three-game suspension for Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair due to his illegal hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
As we previously reported, the incident went down in the second quarter of Sunday’s matchup between the Texans and the Jaguars. As Lawrence scrambled out of the pocket and slid to protect himself from contact, Al-Shaair couldn’t halt his momentum in time, leading to a hard hit that knocked Lawrence out of the game with a concussion.
Al-Shaair put out a statement on Monday, expressing his apologies to Lawrence for the hit. He emphasized that he never meant to hurt the quarterback and took issue with how fans and the media reacted to the situation, feeling they jumped to conclusions too quickly.
“I’ve always played the game as hard as I could. Never with the intent to harm anyone and anybody that knows me knows that. My goal is to hit you as hard as I can then I pray you’re still able to get up and play the next play. And when the game is over go home to your family unharmed because it’s not personal it’s just competition! We both are trying to do the same which is provide for our families!
“I genuinely didn’t see him sliding until it was too late. And it all happens in the blink of an eye. To Trevor I genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening. Before the game we spoke and I told you how it was great to see you back out on the field and wished you well. I would never want to see any player hurt because of a hit I put on them especially one that’s deemed ‘late’ or ‘unnecessary.’
“To the rest of his teammates I can definitely understand you having his back and defending him in a situation like that. To the rest of the people who I’ve been called every single name in the book from reporters with their hands ready for a story to find their villan [sic], to racist and [I]slamophobic fans and people, you don’t know my heart nor my character which I don’t need to prove to any of you. God knows my intentions and anyone who has never been a teammate or friend of mine knows my heart.”
