Houston Texans owner Bob McNair apologized Friday for a comment he made during NFL owner meetings last week in which he compared the players to prison inmates.
The comment came during discussions about player protests during the national anthem.
“We can’t have the inmates running the prison,” McNair said.
NFL Vice President of Football Operations and longtime player Troy Vincent was offended by the remarks, and McNair apologized personally to him, explaining he wasn’t referring to the players as inmates and didn’t mean for the comment to be taken literally, ESPN reported. Vincent was said to have appreciated the apology.
“I regret that I used that expression. I never meant to offend anyone and I was not referring to our players,” McNair said in a statement released by the team, USA Today reported. “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.”
While the comment was an analogy and not meant literally, some players remain offended by owners’ attitudes that seek to deny them the right to protest and an equal chance to make decisions about rules and working conditions, ProFootballTalk reported.
Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins skipped practice Friday following the comments and other players had to be persuaded not to walk out as well, Sporting News reported.
ESPN analyst Adam Schefter tweeted a source told him Hopkins’ absence was because of McNair’s comments.
Other Twitter users pointed out how easily people have been getting offended lately over all kinds of things.
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