The players whom Bob McNair employs were not happy about his comments at a recent NFL owners meeting.
The Texans nearly staged a team-wide walkout Friday, a few hours after McNair apologized for comparing NFL players to “inmates” in a prison, ESPN reported.
Houston’s best offensive player, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, skipped practice for “personal reasons,” but ESPN later confirmed it was in response to McNair’s comments. Head coach Bill O’Brien said he is “100 percent” with his players.
Texans offensive lineman Duane Brown said McNair’s comments “sickened” him and were “horrible,” according to the Houston Chronicle. Brown also said he wasn’t surprised by the comments, and that Houston players are not done dealing with the issue.
Brown’s wife also spoke out on the issue.
“My husband has put his BODY & MIND on the line for your team for 10 YRS & to you he is an “inmate,” Devi Brown wrote. “You owe these players RESPECT & support.”
ESPN reported the Texans will “do something” before the game Sunday but have not decided what yet.
Texans rookie Treston Decoud tweeted, “I don’t believe he is the only owner that feel that way … smh.”
McNair sparked the outrage by saying, “We can’t have the inmates running the prison,” during an NFL owners meeting one day after he and 10 other NFL representatives met with current and former players to discuss the issues behind the national anthem protests. McNair has apologized for the racially insensitive analogy, but count outspoken Seahawks star Richard Sherman — who will play against the Texans this weekend — among those who don’t believe the apology was sincere.
There is going to be another meeting between NFL representatives and players next week, reportedly Tuesday, Oct. 31, in New York. Colin Kaepernick, the former 49ers quarterback who ignited the movement by sitting and then kneeling during the national anthem last season, is expected to attend.