DeAndre Hopkins on Bob McNair's 'Inmates' Comment: 'It Feels Like I'm a Slave'

Former Houston Texans owner Bob McNair infamously described the player protests of racial discrimination and police brutality during the national anthem before games as "inmates running the prison" in 2017, remarks that superstar Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins said changed his entire perception of the power structure in the NFL.

"It feels like I'm a slave again. Listen to the master, go to work," Hopkins told Cam Wolf of GQ. "We realize now what goes on above us. You can't sugarcoat that."

Hopkins said he decided against practicing after hearing McNair's remarks and even considered skipping the team's next game.

"Hell yeah, I was about to sit out the game. 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.

"It's hard for people to understand what that means, when your family was slaves. You can't relate to something like that if your great-uncle's not telling you stories about their parents or their grandparents and what they went through. Not even too long ago, people couldn't even drink out of the same water faucet. Not even 100 years ago."

McNair, who died in Nov. 2018, initially apologized for his comments, though in April 2018 he told the Wall Street Journal he regretted that apology. 

"I really didn't have anything to apologize for. We were talking about a number of things, but we were also washing some of our dirty linen, which you do internally. You don't do that publicly. That's what I was addressing: The relationship of owners and the league office. In business, it's a common expression. But the general public doesn't understand it, perhaps."

Hopkins said he later tried to give McNair some benefit of the doubt.

"I took into consideration that he was older—RIP, his soul," he noted. "He was a good man, but some people they don't really... When you grow up certain places, you talk a certain way."

"I'm a peaceful person," he added. "I try to take into consideration that he's done a lot of good for black people, so s--t, you can't take nothing away from that, but..."

Hopkins also spoke about Colin Kaepernick, who was the first player to kneel during the anthem in protest against racism around the United States, telling GQ he was disappointed that the Texans didn't sign him in 2017 when Deshaun Watson went down with an injury.

"Yeah, I was upset. Everybody needed to give Kaep a look," he said. "He can help a team win. I've seen a lot of quarterbacks that's not as good as Kaep, but teams don't want the heat behind them."

"You can't sugarcoat why Kaep is not playing in the NFL," he added. "This dude played in the Super Bowl."

The Texans went 3-3 in games Watson started that year and went just 1-9 without him after he tore his ACL in November. The combination of Tom Savage and TJ Yates struggled at quarterback, throwing a combined nine touchdowns to nine interceptions with a combined 53.7 percent pass completion percentage. Kaepernick would have been a clear upgrade over both players.

Hopkins, meanwhile, has emerged as arguably the NFL's best receiver, catching 115 passes for 1,572 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2018. He'll once again be the focal point of a revamped Houston offense that added offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, running backs Duke Johnson Jr. and Carlos Hyde and wideout Kenny Stills this summer. 

Hopkins is a superstar, but he's also among a growing list of NFL players using their platform to speak on political and social issues affecting the country. Kaepernick may not be in the NFL, but his impact on the league is still felt through players like Hopkins speaking up on issues that affect them.