‘A good time,’ Texans Pro Bowl corner Kamari Lassiter holds inaugural celebrity softball game at Space Cowboys stadium

SUGAR LAND – Kamari Lassiter took a mighty swing, many of them, during a home run derby Saturday night, as did Calen Bullock and Azeez Al-Shaair.

There were a few whiffs, ground balls and not a lot of blasts from the Texans’ players during a celebrity softball game, the inaugural one for Lassiter, at the Space Cowboys’ Constellation Field.

More importantly, the guys had a lot of fun and raised money for charity.

“Delete that!,” Lassiter said to a smiling Bullock while laughing after his turn at bat didn’t produce the home runs he had hoped for while his friend recorded the moment on his phone." Delete that, man!"

It was a night of excitement and laughter for Lassiter, who was joined by several teammates. That included Al-Shaair, a Pro Bowl middle linebacker who made contact more consistently than his colleagues, along with cornerback Jaylin Smith, wide receiver Tank Dell, safety Jaylen Reed, linebackers Jamal Hill and Henry To’oTo’o and nickel Jalen Pitre. Plus, Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Johnson participated, as did Denver Broncos defensive back Jahdae Barron, Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Tykee Smith, Green Bay Packers defensive back Javon Bullard, Minnesota Vikings defensive end Dallas Turner, Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Josh Jones, Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead, a University of Houston alum, private defensive backs coach Jacory Nichols and Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Amarius Mims.

“I’ve got all my guys here,” Lassiter said. “The more guys that I see coming in the door, the happier I get. We’re going to have a good time. The guys are here. We do a lot of things outside of football. We’re really close together.

“We’re close-knit as a team. Even guys who aren’t playing in the game, Woody Marks, Blake Fisher, that’s what we do. That’s how good teams are built. That’s what we’re built on. I just feel like it’s so much bigger than football with us.”

There was a lot of joking around, including Lassiter reiterating the Unc status he has bestowed upon Al-Shaair, a hard-hitting defensive team captain and signal caller who’s only 28 years old

“Azeez is Unc, he acts like Unc, he walks like Unc, he talks like Unc, he does everything Unc style, except for football,” Lassiter said. “Everything outside of football, he acts like Unc and he knows that. But that’s my dog. I can’t wait for him to pull up.”

Al-Shaair made a joke recently about the length of Lassiter’s shirts, cracking back at his younger teammate.

“First off, my shirts are righteous,” Lassiter said. “My shirts are at the righteous length. They’re not crop-tops or anything and he wears all this outlandish stuff. So, I’m going to get on him with that Unc style. I got something for him.”

The vision behind the event: His mother made the suggestion and the idea immediately resonated with Lassiter.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I would love to,’ and she was like, ‘It’s going to be a celebrity event so you get to bring whoever you want,’” Lassiter said. “I know all my guys would love to do that. Just having that opportunity come it’s like impossible to say no.

“It’s really for me and the guys. In my eyes, they’re all celebrities. Those are the guys that I look up to.”

Lassiter grew up playing center field as a high school senior before enrolling at the University of Georgia on a football scholarship.

“I actually really fell in love with it,” Lassiter said. “It was just too late. It was time for football, so I had to drop it.”

Bragging rights were on the line. Especially between Lassiter and Bullock, his best friend.

“Clearly, I think I’m the best, but all my friends think they’re the best, so we’re going to see who hits the most home runs,” Lassiter said weeks before the game. “Everybody on the team thinks they’re going to hit more home runs than me. (Bullock) thinks he’s going to hit a lot of home runs.

“We’re going to see. It’s really going to be bragging rights, because some people are going to come out here and they’re going to wet the bed. Whenever they wet the bed and get struck out in the home run derby, they’re never going to hear the end of it.”

On and off the field, Lassiter is dedicated. And he’s inspired by the example of his parents, Kammie and Kenneth.

“It comes a lot for my family, just being raised by two hard-working, God-fearing people,” Lassiter said. “That’s instilled in me, but I feel like this event is really just something to put my name on as a staple to be in the city Houston.

“Something that I could do year in and year out. Just have people come out and just enjoy a day where we can all just be together.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com