We all get more disgusted every time we see the replay of Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair launching himself, forearm first, into Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s head and neck as he slid with 4:20 remaining in the second quarter last Sunday.
Lawrence left the game with a severe concussion; Al-Shaair left the game after being ejected and penalized with a personal foul.
The National Football League agrees with me. The league handed down a particularly harsh punishment Tuesday by sending the troubled defender home for the next three games because his behavior is “troubling and does not reflect the core values of the NFL.”
Quite frankly, that behavior does not reflect the core values of humanity.
We expect too much of our athletes. Our fanatical expectations make us too forgiving when our favorite players cross the line and furious when an opponent is deliberately callous against one of our players.
In this case, the NFL is making the right call. The only change I’d make is to not allow Al-Shaair to play until Lawrence clears concussion protocols before he starts his three-game suspension. Maybe then he will get the message.
I say that because he has a history of cheap shots and late hits.
He was fined $11,255 after he was called for a late hit out of bounds on Tennessee running back Tony Pollard a week earlier. He was also fined $11,817 in Week 2 after slugged Chicago running back Roschon Johnson on the sideline.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said it best: “It’s a play that really has no business being in our league.”
If Al-Shaair did that on the corner of Blanding Boulevard and College Drive, he would have won a trip to Michelle Cook’s jail.
The NFL’s letter to Al-Shaair on Tuesday was clear: the league is fed up with his hooligan behavior.
Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan wrote:
“Video shows you striking the head/neck area of Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence after he clearly goes down in a feet-first slide ...You led with your forearm and helmet and delivered a forceful blow to the head/neck area of your opponent when you had time and space to avoid such contact. After the illegal hit you proceeded to engage in a brawl which you escalated when you pulled an opponent down to the ground by his facemask. After the referee announced that you were disqualified for the hit and your unsportsmanlike acts you removed your helmet and reengaged with your opponent while walking down and across the fieldwhich started another physical confrontation near the end zone. 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.”
After the game, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans seemed concerned with his linebacker’s actions after Sunday.
“That’s not what we’re coaching,” Ryans said. “Want to be smart in everything we do and not hurt the team get a penalty there. Just have to be smarter when a quarterback is going down.”
But after the suspension was announced two days later, the team’s mood changed, and the team announced it planned to appeal. Both Ryans and General Manager Nick Caserio called the attacks on Al-Shaair’s character, “bull---.”
The NFL may have some more questions for Al-Shaair. Last week's and this Sunday’s games were part of the “My Cause My Cleats” program to honor the causes players have chosen to support. According to the NFL, players aren’t allowed to use causes or messages “that are considered offensive, discriminatory, politically divisive, or that can be seen as exploiting, abusing, or endangering children.”
Al-Shaair’s cleats supported the Palestine Children Relief Fund and had the message: “Surely to Allah we belong and to him we will all return” on one side. On the other side, he listed the number of dead, estimated number of people buried under rubble and people wounded in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
If the suspension is upheld, we won’t have to worry about seeing those cleats - or the out-of-control person who wears them.
