A day after Azeez Al-Shaair landed a hard hit on Trevor Lawrence that led to him getting ejected, the Houston Texans defender has broke his silence and wrote a statement about the incident.

“I've always played the game as hard as I could. Never with the intent to harm anyone and anybody that knows me knows that. My goal is to hit you as hard as I can then I pray you're still able to get up and play the next play. And when the game is over go home to your family unharmed because it's not personal it's just competition,” Al-Shaair wrote. “We both are trying to do the same thing which is provide for our families! I genuinely didn't see him sliding until it was too late. And it all happens in the blink of an eye. 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'.

“To the rest of his teammates I can definitely understand you having his back and defending him in a situation like that. To the rest of the people who l'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. God knows my intentions and anyone who has ever been a teammate or friend of mine knows my heart.”

Texans' DeMeco Ryans reacts to Azeez Al-Shaair

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During the Week 13 matchup against the Texans and the Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence was hit hard by Azeez Al-Shaair, and the quarterback left the game with a head injury. After Al-Shaair landed the hit, players from both teams got into a scuffle, while Lawrence was still on the ground.

After the game, head coach DeMeco Ryans shared his thoughts on Al-Shaair and the hit.

“It's not representative of who Azeez is. Azeez is a smart player, really great leader for us,” Ryans said. “We felt his presence not being there, and it really affected us on the defensive side. That's not what we were coaching, we didn't want to see the melee and all of the aftermath, that's not what we're about.”