Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair expressed a heartfelt apology on social media after his rough hit resulted in an injury to Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on Sunday. During the second quarter of the Texans’ 23-20 victory against the Jaguars, Al-Shaair made an illegal hit to Lawrence’s head, despite Lawrence declaring himself down by sliding. <\/p>
A fiery on-field scrum broke out among players as trainers cared for Lawrence, who suddenly went rigid and exhibited the fencing position, a typical indicator of a head injury. <\/p>
Lawrence was taken off the field and declared out because of a concussion, while Al-Shaair was one of the two players thrown out of the game.<\/p>
In light of the extensive backlash regarding the illegal hit, Al-Shaair went to X (previously called Twitter) to apologize to Lawrence and the Jaguars:<\/p>
“I genuinely didn’t see him sliding until it was too late. And it all happens in the blink of an eye,” Al-Shaair wrote. “To Trevor i genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening. Before the game we spoke and I told you how it was great to see you back out on the field and wished you well. I would never want to see any player hurt because of a hit I put on them especially one that’s deemed ‘late’ or ‘unnecessary.’<\/strong><\/em><\/p> “To the rest of the people who I’ve been called every single name in the book from reporters with their hands ready for a story to find their villain, to racist and Islamophobic fans and people, you don’t know my heart nor my character which I don’t need to prove to any of you.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>