Houston Texans owner Bob McNair received a tremendous amount of backlash for his recent comments about how the NFL can’t have “inmates running the prison” when it came to the protests during the national anthem.
There were a number of current and former players around the league that spoke out against McNair’s comments, including a number of Texans players that were upset with what he said. The optics of a white owner referring to players in the league, the majority of which are black, “inmates” has obvious racial implications, and the reaction was swift in condemning McNair’s quote.
While he tried to backtrack his comments, the damage had been done and on Sunday his team sent him a clear message when the vast majority of the team locked arms and took a knee during the national anthem prior to their game in Seattle against the Seahawks.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/924729702337654784
https://twitter.com/megrowler/status/924727506351022080
It was a show of unity from the team, which had reportedly discussed a number of different options for a protest and sending a message to McNair before apparently settling on kneeling. McNair and the Texans have yet to release a statement on the players’ protest, and may not at all, but we will undoubtedly hear more from the players after the game.
