Azeez Al-Shaair talked to Roger Goodell about being ‘unjustifiably smeared’

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair's reckless hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence drew universal condemnation and earned him a three-game suspension from the NFL.

The Texans accepted the league's severe penalty. What angered them most was the scathing criticism from NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan, who charged Al-Shaair for having a "lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football" and possessing "troubling" qualities that do not "reflect the core values of the NFL."

"What we take umbrage is just the picture that's been painted about Azeez, his intentions, who he is as a person. I mean quite frankly it's bulls---," Caserio said of Runyan's comments about Al-Shaair.

Having served his three-game ban, Al-Shaair returned to practice on Monday as Houston, the AFC South champion, prepares for its regular-season finale against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Al-Shaair also took to social media on Monday to thank the people who "stood by me" and to state that he "learned so much from this entire experience."

He also revealed that he met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent and Runyan "about how I was characterized in the letter sent out from the NFL."

pic.twitter.com/depYlTAneh
— Azeez Al-shaair (@A_train2_) December 31, 2024

“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 tweeted.

"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. 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.”

Al-Shaair also shared that he watched video of his late hit on Lawrence, calling the play "an embarrassing and eye-opening moment for me" and admitting he let his "emotions get the best of me to the point where I completely lost it."

Azeez Al-Shaair talked to Roger Goodell about being ‘unjustifiably smeared’ by NFL

By Joe Lago | Dec 31, 2024