Sherko Haji-Rasouli (born September 1, 1980) is a former

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian professional football player. But now a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

player. He played for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

and BC Lions of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

College career

Haji-Rasouli played collegiately at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

in the U.S. state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. While playing for the Hurricanes, Haji-Rasouli was twice selected to the All- Big East team.

Professional career

Haji-Rasouli was drafted by the

in the 2002 CFL Draft (2nd round, 12th overall). He suffered a season-ending injury in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, limiting him to just one game. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, Haji-Rasouli played all 18 games in his final season in Montreal. Haji-Rasouli was signed by the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

before the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

season. In

, Haji-Rasouli played 16 games primarily as the Lions' first backup offensive lineman. However, he later moved into the starting lineup (starting 5 games) after an injury to Jamal Powell. Haji-Rasouli caught one pass for 3 yards in an August 19,

game against the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

. In

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, Haji-Rasouli played most of the season as a backup but received some starts when

Kelly Bates Kelly Bates (born July 27, 1975) is the offensive line coach for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a former professional Canadian football guard and former head coach of the Simon Fraser Clan. He was drafted by the Lions i ...

was injured. On January 31, 2011, Haji-Rasouli was released by the Lions.

References

1980 births Living people BC Lions players Canadian football offensive linemen Sportspeople of Iranian descent Iranian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Miami Hurricanes football players Montreal Alouettes players Sportspeople from Shiraz Iranian emigrants to Canada Iranian players of Canadian football Iranian players of American football {{Iran-sport-bio-stub