McNair apologizes
Players, leaders angered despite owner’s apology
Bob McNair apologizes after comment angers players.
Texans owner Bob McNair angered some of his players, area lawmakers and civil rights leaders when he said “we can’t have the inmates running the prison” during a recent closed-door NFL meeting about player protests this season.
McNair issued an apology for the comments, which were first reported by ESPN.com as part of a story on meetings in which owners, players and others discussed protests by numerous players across the league over racial injustice in the United States. Such protests were initially meant to bring attention to, among other issues, the killings of unarmed African-Americans by police but have devolved into a litmus test among many fans and some owners for patriotism and respect for the armed forces.
President Donald Trump last month referred to such players as “sons of bitches,” an insult that he has followed with repeated outbursts on Twitter.
“I regret that I used that expression,” McNair said in statement released Friday. “I never meant to offend anyone and I was not referring to our players. I used a figure of speech that was never intended to be taken literally. I would never characterize our players or our league that way and I apologize to anyone who was offended by it.”
Several Texans players contemplated walking out of Friday’s practice and two — DeAndre Hopkins and D’Onta Foreman — missed practice for what was characterized as a “personal day” by coach Bill O’Brien. Hopkins and Foreman were not available for comment.
“I think the comments were disrespectful; I think it was ignorant; I think it was embarrassing,” Texans offensive lineman Duane Brown said. “It
“We can’t have the inmates running the prison.” Bob McNair, Texans owner, during last week’s owner meetings
angered a lot of players, including myself. We put our bodies and minds on the line every time we step on the field. To use an analogy of inmates in prison, I would say that’s disrespectful.”
Brown, who last season raised his fist during the anthem when the protests first started, emphasized that the Texans’ players aren’t done with the issue and will continue to discuss their response. The Texans play at Seattle on Sunday.
‘It’s a bad situation’
O’Brien, general manager Rick Smith and assistant head coach Romeo Crennel met with players for 90 minutes to discuss the situation, pushing back the start of practice, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly. By all accounts, the meeting went positively, and players were able to voice their opinions and frustrations and were convinced to practice.
“This is bigger than just the protests,” Brown said. “This is the view of player-owner relationship. This is how you view us: ‘You’re an inmate. We can’t let you guys out of line. We can’t let you speak for yourself. We can’t let you have your own beliefs.’ That’s what it feels like. It’s a bad situation.”
Houston-area lawmakers and civil rights leaders slammed McNair’s comments and said they were against a proposed statue of the Texans owner to be built at NRG Stadium.
They also said McNair’s comments were not an isolated incident but a part of a long-ongoing treatment of African-American athletes as “commodities.”
“This does not go to the Texans only,” said U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, citing her work with the NFL on concussions and antitrust issues. “It troubles me that for all that period of time, the owners considered these young men something less than human beings. It troubles me that they are in fact a commodity.”
Another Houston Democrat, U.S. Rep. Al Green, said McNair’s comments — and others like it — are indicative of worsening racial discord that he said has been fueled by Trump.
McNair gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee, which received a total $7.5 million from owners of NFL teams, according to public records.
“Mr. McNair is but one symptom of a greater problem,” Green said at a press conference held by the Houston chapter of the NAACP. “This president is bringing the level of discourse to a level that is intolerable and unacceptable.”
“It’s about a president who, by his words, deeds and actions, has caused people to move toward xenophobia, toward nativism, toward sexism, toward hatred and bigotry,” he said before again vowing to bring a vote to impeach the president to the floor of Congress.
Apology irks some
Others said they did not accept McNair’s apology for his comment, which they said misunderstood the original purpose of protests by NFL players of racial injustice and the killing by police of unarmed African-Americans, among other issues.
“NFL players are protesting inequality in our country,” Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said in a statement. “When their employer responds by calling them inmates in a prison, he not only shows why the protests are needed, he shows that he hasn’t even thought about the meaning behind their protest.”
“It doesn’t matter if Bob McNair meant to offend anybody or not; it matters that he chose those words to describe his employees and didn’t think about why it would be a problem,” Ellis said. “Going forward, I would encourage him to think a little less about the business impact of President Trump’s Twitter insults and more about the inequalities that his own players are protesting.”
McNair’s comments came at a special meeting of 11 owners, 12 players, one former player and three members of the NFL Players Association called by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. League executives are scheduled to meet again Tuesday. McNair’s comment was preceded by speeches by Washington owner Dan Snyder and Dallas owner Jerry Jones. Jones, according to ESPN, argued on behalf of an anthem mandate, saying the protests were damaging league business. Some in the room heard Snyder, in response, mumble “See, Jones gets it — 96 percent of Americans are for guys standing.”
The initial ESPN report said Troy Vincent, a league executive and former NFL player, was “offended by McNair’s characterization of the players as inmates. McNair later pulled Vincent aside and apologized, saying that he felt horrible and that his words weren’t meant to be taken literally, which Vincent appreciated.”
Trump fueled protests
Nothing concrete came from the two-day meetings other than the league and the owners saying they would continue to work with the players on the issues, including social injustice, which spurred Colin Kaepernick to kneel during the anthem last season when he played for San Francisco.
The attention to player protests grew earlier this season when Trump on Sept. 22 said in a speech that NFL owners should release players who don’t stand for the anthem.
That next Sunday, the Texans locked arms but stood during the anthem before their game at New England. Since that game, the team’s players have all stood.
Until Friday, that was the extent of the Texans players’ public reaction to the controversy.
“This is the view of playerowner relationship. This is how you view us: ‘You’re an inmate. We can’t let you guys out of line. We can’t let you speak for yourself. We can’t let you have your own beliefs.’ That’s what it feels like. It’s a bad situation.”
Duane Brown, Texans offensive lineman