Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins Almost Skipped A Game Over Bob McNair’s ‘Inmate’ Comment: “It Feels Like I’m A Slave Again”

Houston Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins recently revealed that he skipped practice over the late Texans owner Bob McNair’s 2017 comment, “we can’t have the inmates running the prison” during a meeting between a group of league owners.

The three-time Pro Bowler sat down for an interview with ‘GQ’ and explained that his reaction, to the comments made by the late-franchise owner two days before Houston’s Week 8 game, was to “take my ass home” for good. But instead, he opted to skip practices.

“Hell yeah, I was about to sit out the game,” Hopkins said. “But I definitely wasn’t going to practice. A couple of my teammates about to follow me, but they called them back up to the stadium. They tried calling me, but I wasn’t going back. Hell no.”

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“It feels like I’m a slave again. Getting ran over. Listen to the master, go to work. But I took into consideration that (McNair) was older — RIP, his soul. He was a good man, but some people they don’t really… When you grow up certain places, you talk a certain way,” he said. 

The game Hopkins was referring to was a matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Hopkins, who’s a supporter of Colin Kaepernick, took a knee along with several of his teammates, after he eventually decided to suit up for the game. Hopkins told GQ that his sole reason for playing in the game was because he didn’t want to let his teammates and family down.

“My teammates, man,” Hopkins said when asked why he decided to play the Seattle game in 2017. “I play for them. I don’t play for nobody else but my teammates and my family. That’s it.”

Hopkins shared that the series of events that took place in 2017 gave him a different perspective on the NFL and the way decisions are made from ownership and league executives.