Texans safety Azeez Al-Shaair suspended three games after hit on Trevor Lawrence

Houston Texans safety Azeez Al-Shaair has been suspended three games without pay for “repeated violations of rules intended to protect the health and safety of players,” the NFL announced Tuesday.

Houston Texans safety Azeez Al-Shaair has been suspended three games without pay for “repeated violations of rules intended to protect the health and safety of players,” the NFL announced Tuesday.

Al-Shaair was ejected from the Texans’ 23-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday after he hit a defenseless Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence, the Jaguars’ quarterback, was sliding when Al-Shaair dove and hit him in the head with his forearm. Lawrence exhibited the fencing pose after the collision and left the game with a concussion.

Al-Shaair had already been fined two times this season, once for a late hit and once for throwing a punch.

“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,” Jon Runyan, the NFL’s vice president of football operations, wrote in a letter to Al-Shaair. “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.”

Runyan’s letter also describes Al-Shaair’s hit on Lawrence as “unacceptable and a serious violation of the playing rules.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/nfl/texans-azeez-al-shaahir-suspended-trevor-lawrence-rcna182675

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