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Texans’ linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair revealed that he met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and two of his top executives, in his first comments since being suspended for his hit on Trevor Lawrence.
Al-Shaair, in a lengthy social media statement Monday, said he met with Goodell, executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent and vice president of football operations Jon Runyan during his three-game suspension to express how he “was characterized in the letter sent out by the NFL.”
“Without going into detail, the meeting we had was productive and gave me hope for moving forward and playing the game that I love with continued best intentions, while also not having my character and integrity unjustifiably smeared,” Al-Shaair wrote.
He was suspended by the league a day after laying a vicious hit to a sliding Lawrence during the Texans’ game against the Jaguars on Dec. 1.
Lawrence suffered a concussion and was forced to be shut down for the remainder of the season.
Al-Shaair has apologized to Lawrence for the hit.
Runyan didn’t hold back the NFL’s official release about the suspension of Al-Shaair, who has a history of illegal plays and questionable hits that could be seen as dirty.
He was already fined this season for throwing a punch at Bears’ running back Roschon Johnson.
“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,” the NFL’s statement read. “… 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.”
That did not sit well at all with the sixth-year veteran, something he clearly expressed to NFL brass.
“In that conversation — man to man — I owned and acknowledged that my actions following my ejection were careless and, in that moment, I didn’t think about the responsibility I have been blessed with to represent the shield,” Al-Shaair wrote. “I also stated that the letter, and specifically the language used in the letter, was equally as careless and conveyed that the context of the words used were not a reflection of my character, nor my career, as I have not been warned multiple times for my play on the field.”
