He's not sorry after all...
Houston Texans Owner Bob McNair tells The Wall Street Journal he regrets apologizing for his comment last season about "inmates running the prison." The misquote occurred during an October meeting over player protests of the National Anthem.
McNair has always maintained he was not talking about the players, but league executives who tried to exercise more authority than the owners.
He issued an apology through the team's PR department: "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 or our league that way and I apologize to anyone who was offended by it."
His comments prompted a player backlash despite his effort to clarify. Wide Receiver DeAndre Hopkins sat out a practice in protest. Offensive lineman Duane Brown was also critical of the comments and later claimed the team considered a mass walkout.
Brown was later traded to the Seattle Seahawks, but there is only speculation that the two incidents were related.
The team took a knee during the National Anthem the following week.
In a Wall Street Journal interview, the 80-year old McNair reiterated his belief that the NFL should distance itself from politics.