Azeez Al-Shaair's Response to His Suspension Getting Upheld is WILD

My initial reaction upon seeing Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair deliver this forearm shiv to Trevor Lawrence was that there wouldn't a sentient being in the United States who watched it and thought it wasn't a penalty worthy of a rejection and a suspension. 

I mean, sure there was a time when this play would've made a VHS collection of "Best NFL Hits" you got free with a paid subscription to Sports Illustrated. More recently, the fellas at the ESPN desk would've added to their highlight package and yelled "JACKED UP!!!" as Lawrence's head snapped back like JFK at Dealey Plaza. But now, after a decade of the NFL trying to keep the CTE lawsuit attorneys at bay by making examples of exactly this kind of hit, it seemed like an open and shut case. And that was before I understood there's a history here:

Obviously it wasn't as cut-and-dried as I figured. Al-Shaair's play landed him right in the middle of the national debate about quarterbacks taking advantage of the rules written to protect them. Seemingly every week we've got Cris Collinsworth or Tony Romo or whomever braying like donkeys about how you've got to respect the way Patrick Mahomes fakes like he's going into a slide and takes off for a 1st down instead, or whatever.  That seemed to be the crux of DeMeco Ryans' argument:

Vindog suggested a rule change where after 10 yards, the quarterback becomes fair game like any other ballcarrier. Which is a perfectly reasonable idea. Tom Brady (who took 20 years to rush for 1,000 yards) prefers more of a Mutually Assured Destruction approach:

But for their part, the football Powers That Be are having none of that talk. Particularly now, with Lawrence ruled out for the season:

But if you thought all this would result in some quiet reflection on Al-Shaair's part, a few weeks away from the game he loves to contemplate the error of his ways, an introspective journey of self-discovery in hopes of doing better, you're as wrong as I've been all week. Azeez is apologizing to no one:

Ay carumba, there's a lot to unpack here. I'll put aside the matter of his My Cause, My Cleats message, since he's supporting the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Good on him for that. And religious appeal at the end, since calling on your faith in times when you feel like the whole world stands against you is an integral part of any faith-based belief system. If it were just that last message, change the name of the deity and it could've been written by 75% of the players who get suspended in this league. 

But the rest? This is a masterclass in telling the Man you won't back down. ALL CAPS. Going full Wrestling Heel. That emoji, flipping the State Bird of Massachusetts at the NFL. And then not one but two references to the Joker. And not even one of the fun, hilarious ones like Cesar Romero from the TV show or Mark Hamill's from the animated series. But the one who self describes as "a mentally ill loner" who "society abandons him and treats him like trash." Just as he shoots Robert DeNiro in the face on his own talk show:

And in doing so, Al-Shaair just made himself the Most Interesting Man in Pro Football. Love him or hate him, you have to admit you're glad that suspension was for three games and not for the balance of the regular season. Because all eyes are going to be on Nashville for that Week 18 game against the Titans when he's reinstated. Then we get to find out exactly what sort of "VILLAIN" he intends to be. The kind who commits murders on live television, or the kind who sings and dances with Lady Gaga in the worst movie of the year. Either way, we'll all be watching.