This isn't ideal.
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According to ESPN's Adam Schefter (via Sarah Barshop), members of the Houston Texans threatened to walk out of practice today following comments from team owner Bob McNair.
Texans players wanted to walkout today in response to owner Bob McNair’s comments, per @sarahbarshop. Had to be persuaded to stay.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 27, 2017
The players were reportedly persuaded to stay, but Schefter said that one player, former first-round pick DeAndre Hopkins, did indeed miss practice because of McNair's comments.
Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins’ absence from practice today was related to Bob McNair’s comments, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 27, 2017
Texans HC Bill O’Brien apprised his team of Bob McNair’s comments at morning meeting today so they would not be blinsdsided, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 27, 2017
Many of the Texans players wanted to leave facility and not attend practice, and Pro Bowl WR DeAndre Hopkins actually did, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 27, 2017
The reports come after comments from the most recent NFL owners meeting became public, where McNair used the phrase "inmates running the prison" in reference to the ongoing national anthem protests in the NFL.
As Jones spoke, [Dan] Snyder mumbled out loud, "See, Jones gets it — 96 percent of Americans are for guys standing," a claim some dismissed as a grand overstatement. [Bob] McNair, a multimillion-dollar Trump campaign contributor, spoke next, echoing many of the same business concerns. "We can't have the inmates running the prison," McNair said.
McNair later released a statement about his remarks as a form of apology. Via Texans PR:
"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."
