Houston Texans owner Bob McNair “stunned” other NFL franchise owners last week by saying they need to oppose players’ efforts to kneel during the national anthem, and saying that owners can’t have “inmates running the prison.”
McNair’s remark, reported by ESPN, came after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones discussed the business issues facing the league, as well as his call for a mandate requiring players to stand during the national anthem.
According to ESPN, the Texans owner’s comments surprised some at the New York City meeting and offended Troy Vincent, a former player who is now the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations.
Vincent told the owners that while he had been called every name possible during his time in the league, he never felt he was an “inmate.”
McNair, who contributed $1 million to President Trump’s inaugural committee, later apologized to Vincent and said he “felt horrible and that his words weren’t meant to be taken literally, which Vincent appreciated,” according to ESPN.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first kneeled for the national anthem last year, and the protests were thrust back into the spotlight last month when Trump said during a speech in Alabama that NFL team owners should fire any player who doesn’t stand when the “Star-Spangled Banner” plays.
Trump has since called on the league to implement a rule requiring players to stand and urging fans to boycott teams that don’t.
In addition to the owners-only meeting at the fall league meeting, players also gathered with a select group of team owners to discuss the anthem protests. After the two-day long event concluded, the NFL announced it would not mandate players stand for the national anthem.
