Houston Texans Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair Sends a Threat After 3-Game Suspension for Vicious Play is Upheld
The NFL suspended Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair three games for a vicious and dangerous hit, and he later posted on social media a threatening image.
If there was any question after Azeez Al-Shaair's social media post Wednesday night, it is clear now that his earlier apology was not sincere following a very vicious hit on Trevor Lawrence.
Instead, it seemed a ploy to appease the NFL in hopes of leniency for the linebacker's illegal tackle of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
When the appeal was unsuccessful and the three-game suspension was upheld, the Texans linebacker reacted quite poorly, going to social media to express his frustration.
On X and Instagram, Azeez Al-Shaair referred to himself as a "villain" in a series of photos: Joaquin Phoenix as Joker, a photo of himself, and a picture of his "Free Palestine" cleats in support of the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
He titled it as "There is a beauty in being rejected, misunderstood, unseen and unprotected by people. It teaches you to relay on Allah for everything."
His post was accompanied by the declaration, "IF YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR VILLAIN, ILL BE YOUR VILLAIN! SEE YOU SOON. . . ", with an emoji of a middle finger and a joker playing card.
The publication, which remained accessible for several hours afterward, has not attracted significant public support.
Al-Shaair had previously alleged that fans exhibited «racist and Islamophobic» behaviors and condemned journalists for their handling of him in his prior declaration.
The Jaguars, though, reportedly have shut down Lawrence for the remainder of the year due to a concussion and forthcoming left shoulder surgery. Al-Shaair is eligible to return to the Texans in Week 18.
It will be worth keeping an eye on to see if the NFL looks into this post and subsequently adds any further discipline to Al-Shaair.
| POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 5 | 179 ANSWERS Houston Texans Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair Sends a Threat After 3-Game Suspension for Vicious Play is Upheld Do you believe Azeez Al-Shaair should receive further discipline for his social media post? | ||
| Yes | 156 | 87.2 % |
| No | 23 | 12.8 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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| Kyle Connor | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Sidney Crosby | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | - | 4 | 4 | |
| Dylan Holloway | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jonathan Marchessault | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Brad Marchand | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Kirill Marchenko | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Rickard Rakell | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Filip Forsberg | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Sean Monahan | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Zachary Werenski | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Michael Bunting | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Elias Pettersson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| John Tavares | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 2 | - | 2 | |
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| Complete stats | ||||
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TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 36 | 25 | 10 | 1 | 51 | |
Golden Knights | 34 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 49 | |
Devils | 37 | 23 | 11 | 3 | 49 | |
Capitals | 34 | 23 | 9 | 2 | 48 | |
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Panthers | 36 | 22 | 12 | 2 | 46 | |
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Hurricanes | 34 | 21 | 12 | 1 | 43 | |
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| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||