Houston Texans owner Bob McNair is not famous on the level of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones or Patriots owner Bob Kraft but he finds himself prominently on the news this week. In short, McNair was cited in the midst of an ESPN piece dropping the quote of "we can't have the inmates running the prison" and, given that it was read through the prism of NFL players protesting during the national anthem and that entire debate, the reaction has been swift.
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In response, McNair released an official statement through the Texans PR apparatus on Friday afternoon:
"I regret that I used that expression. 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. I would never characterize our players of our league that way and I apologize to anyone who was offended by it."
McNair will be credited for a swift apology but, in some respects, he does not put forth a credible alternative behind the motive for what he was quoted as saying. Beyond that, this is the sort of apology (one directed toward "anyone who was offended by it") that doesn't usually go over well and, in that regard, it seems unlikely that McNair will avoid further scrutiny.
