Texans owner Bob McNair had to dine on crow after letting out an extremely racially charged statement.

McNair said “We can’t have the inmates running the prison,” during a meeting with NFL owners and executives last week, according to the USA Today. The meeting was called to address players' kneeling during the national anthem.

It wasn't until late this week, however, that the statements surfaced online thanks to a story by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta for Outside the Lines. 

Almost instantly, the statements caused a ruckus because of their clear racist overtones.

 

The comments caused a stir in the meeting as well.

Troy Vincent, a former NFL player and current NFL executive, reportedly couldn't stand for the remarks. Vincent apparently got into a heated arguement with McNair over the statement, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones jumped in to defend McNair.

After tempers cooled, McNair apologized to Vincent and said that he was wrong.

“I regret that I used that expression. I never meant to offend anyone and I was not referring to our players,” McNair wrote in a statement released by the Texans. “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.”

This latest controversy adds a new wrinkle to the already heated debate on the intent of the national anthem protests started by former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick.

The movement started by Kap has always been about protesting the racial injustices in America and stopping police brutality. But critics, such as the president of the United States, have misconstrued the message and turned the protests into an attack on the flag and national anthem. 

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