Evan Engram, the Jacksonville Jaguars player who attacked Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair last weekend after a brutal and illegal hit on Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, has been fined for his actions.
Engram was assessed a $11,255 fine for hitting Al-Shaair and driving his face into the ground in retaliation for the hit. The hit by al-Shaair sparked a massive, sideline-clearing brawl between the two teams.
Engram spoke about Al-Shaair’s “dirty hit” and his reaction to it after the game.
“It was a dirty hit,” Engram told reporters. “In that moment, instinct was just, it didn’t feel like a clean hit, so I had to go stand up for my quarterback.
“I just knew it was wrong. It was a dirty play. You stood up for your guys. It’s just how it goes.”
The league handed Al-Shaair a three-game suspension without pay for the hit.
The Texans defender apologized for the hit in a statement posted to social media following the game. He also lashed out at fans who he claims engaged in “racist and Islamophobic” remarks due to the “Free Palestine” cleats he was wearing during the game.
After the league rejected Al-Shaair’s appeal of his three-game suspension, he took to social media to say that if the NFL wanted him to be the “villain,” that was a role he was happy to play.
“IF YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR VILLAIN, ILL BE YOUR VILLAIN! SEE YOU SOON,” Al-Shaair wrote after learning of his suspension.
The post contained four pictures: one of Al-Shaair being introduced before a game, another of the Joker, one pic of the “Free Palestine” cleats Al-Shaair wore on Sunday, and another picture of a quote about “beauty” in being rejected and misunderstood.
Lawrence sustained a concussion from the hit and was carted off the field. The Jags QB was placed on IR shortly after the game to have shoulder surgery for an injury he sustained in Week 9.
