Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was called plenty of unfair nicknames after his questionable hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The former No. 1 overall pick went down with concussion-like symptoms, and has since been placed on injured reserve. Lawrence reached out to his fans on social media to let them know he was fine, but nonetheless, the reaction by the vast majority of football fans was not kind to Al-Shaair.
When the NFL suspended Al-Shaair, they drew conclusions about his character in their statement, which was not kind.
"Your lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play, coach, and enjoy watching it, is troubling and does not reflect the core values of the NFL … Your continued disregard for NFL playing rules puts the health and safety of both you and your opponents in jeopardy and will not be tolerated," Jon Runyan wrote.
Texans general manager Nick Caserio spoke out in defense of Al-Shaair, who the team believes embodies their program.
"Quite frankly it's unfair... I think all teams ask for is consistency from the league and I'd say in this situation, there's no consistency at all relative to the level of discipline that's been handed down," Caserio said.
Azeez Al-Shaair doubles down after suspension appeal is denied by the NFL
Al-Shaair appealed the three-game suspension he received from the NFL, but to no avail. The Texans starting linebacker will be eligible to return on Jan. 5, when Houston takes on the Tennessee Titans. Rather than take his punishment in stride after exhausting every resource at his disposal, Al-Shaair took to Instagram, where his latest Instagram post insisted he is fine playing the role of villain.
IF YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR VILLAIN, ILL BE YOUR VILLAIN!🖕🏾SEE YOU SOON…🃏 pic.twitter.com/GA5FMglMjz
— Azeez Al-shaair (@A_train2_) December 5, 2024
While the Joker theme may not land the way Al-Shaair thinks it will, in many ways the Texans defender has played into his opposition's hand since knocking Lawrence out of the game last Sunday. First, he started a brawl with players on the team. Then, he apologized to Lawrence but also tried to bail himself out. Al-Shaair placed quotations around the words 'bold' and 'unnecessary'. He also claimed he didn't see Lawrence until it was too late, which is disproven on instant replay.
There's a reason Al-Shaair was ejected from the game and eventually suspended. It doesn't make him the villain, but it is a chance to change his playing style, rather than steering into the skid.