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Ali Haji-Sheikh and Shar Pourdanesh share the fact that they are retired NFL players who live beyond the glare of the NFL spotlight. But they also share another distinction that links them to current events: they are part of the Iranian diaspora awaiting the fall of the Islamic revolution.
They are part of a small group of men who played in the NFL – along with David Bakhtiari, his brother Eric Bakhtiari and TJ Housmandzadeh – who are of Iranian descent.
Washington Redskins kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh (6) talks to reporters at Jack Murphy Stadium during media day prior to Super Bowl XXII against the Denver Broncos. San Diego, California, on January 26, 1988. (Darr Beiser/USA TODAY Sports)
Haji-Sheikh: Self-determination for Iranians
Haji-Sheikh, 65, played in the 1980s for the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. He was a first-team All-Pro, made the Pro Bowl and was on the 1983 NFL All-Rookie team for the Giants and, in his final season, won a Super Bowl XXII ring playing for the Washington Redskins and kicking six extra points in a 42-10 rout of the Denver Broncos.
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Now, Haji-Sheikh is the CEO of a Porsche-Audi dealership in Michigan, and he’s like the rest of us, keeping up with world events when time permits.
Except the war the United States is currently waging against the Islamic Republic of Iran is somewhat different because Haji-Sheikh’s father emigrated from Iran to the United States in the 1950s and built a life here.
And his son would like to see freedom come to a country he has never visited but with which he is related.
“It’s a global event,” Haji-Sheikh said Monday. “I’m not a big fan of the Islamic revolution because I’m not Islamic. I would like to see the people of Iran be able to determine their own future instead of it being determined by a few people. It would be nice to see them have a stable government where the people can actually decide how they want it to go.”
Green Bay Packers kicker Al Del Greco (10) chats with New York Giants kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh (6) on September 15, 1985, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Giants 23-20.
Iranians celebrating and Americans protesting
Haji-Sheikh has not taken to the streets of his native Michigan to celebrate a liberation that has not fully manifested itself just days after the American and Israeli bombing and the elimination of the ayatollah.
“I’m very far from that,” Haji-Sheikh said. “My mom is from Michigan and of Eastern European origin. My dad is from Iran. But it’s like he hasn’t been back since I was in eighth grade, so that was a long time ago. That was when the Shah was still in power, in the mid-’70s, 1974 or 1975, because if he ever came back after that, he would never have left. They would have held him back, so there was no intention of coming back.
“But if things change, he might want to leave, you never know.”
Despite being far removed from any activism over what is happening in Iran, Haji-Sheikh is an astute observer.
“What I like to see most on television now is Iranians in the United States celebrating, because there is an opportunity, a glimpse, maybe a hope of freedom,” Haji-Sheikh said. “And you have these people in New York protesting. Why are you protesting?”
Pourdanesh thanks the United States and Israel
Pourdanesh retired from the NFL in 2000 after a seven-year career with the Redskins and Steelers. The six-foot-six, 312-pound offensive tackle was born in Tehran. He proudly tells people that he was the first Iranian-born NFL player.
Pourdanesh is much more visible and open about his feelings towards his country than others. And ultimately, he loves that President Donald Trump is bombing the Islamic regime.
“This is a great day for all Iranians around the world,” Pourdanesh posted on his Instagram account on Saturday as the war began. “Thank you, President Trump, thank you to the nation of Israel. Thank you to everyone who has been defending my people, my brothers and sisters in Iran around the world. This is a great day.
“The infamous dictator is dead, the only person who has contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iranians and others around the world, if not more. So congratulations to my Iranian brothers and sisters. Now, go and take back the country.”
This message was not unique. Pourdanesh has been posting about what has been happening in Iran since January, when people in Iran took to the streets demanding freedom and government thugs began killing them, with some estimates putting the death toll at 36,500.
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Shar Pourdanesh (68) blocks against Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Jevon Kearse (90) during a game at Three Rivers Stadium on September 24, 2000, in Pittsburgh. The Titans defeated the Steelers 23-20. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
‘Islam does not represent the Iranian people’
“[The] The Islamic Republic does not represent the Iranian people,” Pourdanesh said in another post. “Islam does not represent the Iranian people. “For almost 50 years, the Iranian people and our country, Iran, have been held hostage by a terrorist regime, and it is time to topple that regime.”
Pourdanesh was not available for comment Monday. On Monday I spoke with a handful of Iranian-Americans. They didn’t play in the NFL, but their opinions are no less valuable than those of former NFL players.
One complained that media reporting on reparations for black Americans based on 19th-century slavery dismisses the Islamic takeover of the American embassy in 1979 as an old grievance.
Another said his brother lives in England, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer immediately called American and Israeli attacks on the Ayatollah’s regime “illegal” but, as head of the Crown Prosecution Service, it took years to do the same with Muslim grooming gangs in the country.
(Starmer announced a national “legal inquiry” in June 2025.)
Washington Redskins offensive lineman Shar Pourdanesh watches from the sideline during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium on September 7, 1997 in Pittsburgh. The Steelers defeated the Redskins 14-13. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
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Pourdanesh denounces the silence of the NFL
And finally, Pourdanesh blew up the NFL. He said in yet another post that during his career, the NFL asked him to honor black history, asked him to defend women’s rights and to fight for equality for those who cannot defend themselves.
“I did everything they asked of me, and now I ask this of the NFL: Where are you now? Why haven’t we heard a single word from the NFL? NFL, commissioner Roger Goodell, all the NFL teams, all the players who say they stand for social justice, where are you now?
“Why haven’t we heard a single word from you regarding the people who have been murdered until today? The very values you claim to stand for are being trampled right now. Why haven’t we heard a single word?”
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