Texans owner Bob McNair facing backlash for saying NFL can't have 'inmates running the prison' about national anthem protests

Houston Texans owner Bob McNair used a poor choice of words at a recent NFL owners that now has him facing criticism.

According to ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham, NFL owners recently met to discuss how to move on from national anthem protests.

After Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave a passionate speech about the need to make players stand for the national anthem, McNair said, "We can't have the inmates running the prison."

According to ESPN, the statement "stunned" some people in the room.

Though owners continued arguing, later on, NFL executive Troy Vincent, a former player, reportedly called McNair's statement offensive. According to the report, McNair later took Vincent aside and apologized, saying he felt "terrible" for the comment and only meant to use a popular idiom, not reflect players as "inmates."

McNair also apologized through the Texans on Friday:

Nonetheless, the comment has drawn criticism throughout the sports world.

McNair, a multimillion dollar Trump donor, was reportedly one of the owners who, alongside Jones, was in favor of a mandate to make players stand. However, according to ESPN, owners could not come to an agreement on how to proceed over the anthem protests, with only nine owners voting in favor of a hardline stance.

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See Also:

• Chargers lineman rips NFL owner-player meetings on anthem protests as 'disingenuous' and 'unproductive'

• Colin Kaepernick is reportedly going to come face to face with the NFL over national anthem protests

• NFL anthem protests have become one of Trump's most popular Twitter subjects

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