Lies! All lies! Don did NOT maul women
HOUSTON TEXANS owner Bob McNair nearly caused a player revolt Friday when remarks he made in a recent meeting likening NFL players to “inmates” went public.
Texans players — including star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins — considered walking out of practice after McNair’s comments surfaced in an ESPN report Friday.
Hopkins actually took a personal day and didn’t show up.
McNair, 79, issued an apology Friday for the inflammatory utterance, which he made Oct. 17 at a meeting of NFL owners and executives to discuss players’ protests during the national anthem.
“We can’t have inmates running the prison,” McNair said, according to ESPN.
Texans offensive tackle Duane Brown told the Houston Chronicle that players ultimately chose to attend practice.
But the team will get together to discuss the issue at a later time, he added.
“It sickened me,” Brown said of McNair’s comments. “It’s horrible, it’s frustrating not surprised by it.”
Rookie safety Treston Decoud said he doesn’t think McNair’s attitude is unique among team owners.
“I don’t believe he is the only owner that feel that way . . . smh,” Decoud tweeted.
Some in attendance at the Oct. 17 meeting, which included NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, immediately denounced McNair.
Troy Vincent, a former player and the NFL’s current executive vice president of football operations, stood up and said he was offended by the characterization of players as inmates, according to ESPN.
He told the room that he’d been called various slurs, including the n-word, during his 15-year playing career, but had never felt like an “inmate.”
McNair later took Vincent to the side and apologized, saying he didn’t mean the words literally, the magazine said.
The owner of the Texans, a milliondollar . . . I’m contributor to President Trump’s inaugural committee, released a public apology Friday.
“I regret that I used that expression,” McNair said in a statement.
“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,” he said.
“I would never characterize our players or our league that way and I apologize to anyone who was offended by it.”
Players around the league weren’t rushing to accept McNair’s apology.
Seattle corner Richard Sherman tweeted: “I can appreciate ppl being candid. Don’t apologize! You meant what you said. Showing true colors allows ppl to see you for who you are.”
Draymond Green of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors also rebuked McNair.
“First they were sons of b---es and now inmates? I know some inmates. They don’t pay taxes. They’re not community leaders. They’re not (Malcolm) Jenkins, flying to the White House, flying to DC, doing all these things to make a difference. They’re not (Colin) Kaepernick, donating $1 million. That’s like, c’mon man, inmates. That’s unacceptable,” Green said.
President Trump reignited the kneeling debate in September when he called on owners to release any “son of a b---h” who doesn’t stand during “The StarSpangled Banner.” Trump has since continued to gripe about the NFL
and its anthem protests. THE WHITE House officially and emphatically called all women who have accused President Trump of sexual misconduct liars on Friday.
“Yeah, we’ve been clear on that from the beginning, and the President’s spoken on it,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a press briefing when asked directly if Trump’s accusers were lying.
More than a dozen women came forward last year during the presidential election with allegations of sexual assault or misconduct against Trump.
Last week, he called allegations of sexual assault made against him over the years “fake news.” During the campaign, Trump vowed to sue all of the women who spoke out publicly.
The stand by Sanders was made as a spiraling scandal surrounding Hollywood megaproducer Harvey Weinstein has emboldened women to speak more openly about sexual predators. The #metoo campaign on social media has become popular way for women to share stories of assault.
Meanwhile, a plaque commemorating the President’s infamous remarks about grabbing women “by the p—y” was posted outside the film studio where he unleashed his stunning admission to “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush.
The plaque read, “On this spot in September 2005, Donald J. Trump bragged about committing sexual assault. In November 2016, he was elected President of the United States.”