Pattern of behavior

Patrick Creighton: Is it time to face facts with Texans owner Bob McNair?

Patrick Creighton: Is it time to face facts with Texans owner Bob McNair?
Is it time to question Texans owner Bob McNair? Bob Levey/Getty Images

Bill Parcells has a famous quote. “You are what your record says you are.”  Bob McNair’s record right now isn’t looking very good.

In October, at a meeting between owners and players regarding demonstrations during the playing of the national anthem, McNair used the regrettable phrase “can’t have the inmates running the prison.”  NFL EVP of Football Operations Troy Vincent got up and left he was so angry. Texans players were incensed, and some even walked out of practice. McNair tried to smooth things over with the team, but failed.

Twenty days ago, stories broke about how the Texans wouldn’t consider signing a player who either had demonstrated during the anthem or may demonstrate during the anthem in the future.  McNair clearly has shown very little understanding of issues that are important to a majority of his player over the last six months. (While the Texans did have the PR deparment issue a denial of this, it wasn’t worth the paper it was written on, and McNair himself was silent).

Sunday, according to reports, McNair let loose another doozy in another owners’ meeting.  Actually, he let loose two of them.

In one instance, he made it abundantly clear he has no concept of why players demonstrate for social justice and against excessive police force and brutality vs. African Americans with his comments on the NFL’s anthem policy:

“We’re going to deal with it in such a way, I think, that people will understand that we want everybody to respect our country, respect our flag.  And our playing fields, that’s not the place for political statements.”

Everyone with half of a brain understands that the demonstrations have nothing to do with disrespect to America, or to our veterans, yet here’s an NFL owner demonstrating that facts should never get in the way of a good story or quote.

(Cue the K-Tel Records pitchman) But wait, there’s more!

McNair also took up for maligned Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, who is selling the team under the duress of being investigated for multiple incidents of sexual harassment.  Here’s McNair’s defense of his rich, white fellow owner:

“Some of the comments could have been made jokingly.  I’m sure he didn’t mean to offend anybody.”

So now, Bob McNair is telling us that inappropriate sexual comments made as jokes in the workplace are OK? I’m pretty sure the government differs with you on this, Bob, not to mention the women who were subjected to the harassment.  These women will also tell you there was a lot more than just "inappropriate joking comments" that occurred.

The optics are horrifying.  Issues that are important to African American players must be squashed, and it’s OK for old, rich, white guys to be total pervs when they own the business.

To see McNair essentially challenge players that they are going to stand up in the same meeting he’s making excuses for a sexual harasser is straight lunacy.  Apparently priorities are mixed up here.

Unless McNair has his priorities perfectly aligned, because fans don’t get angry over pervert owners, only players who want equality.  No one is threatening his pocketbook over protecting a creep. Money always trumps doing the right thing.

This is why the comments made by Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive (an immigrant from Bombay, no less) were so important.  He understands the place professional sports hold in our society and the power of the platform they have to affect positive change.  This is something NFL owners refuse to even acknowledge.

If once is an outlier, twice is a coincidence, and three times is pattern, maybe we need to accept the facts with Bob McNair.

His record is on full display.  You get to be the judge.

Patrick Creighton is the host of “Nate & Creight” heard Mon-Fri 1-3p on SportsMap 94.1FM, and “Sports & Shenanigans” Sundays 12-5p CT on SB Nation Radio.  Follow him on Twitter at @pcreighton1



 

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Welcome to Houston, Nick! Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.

The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.

For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.

“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”

As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.

Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.

He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.

Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.

It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.

You can watch the full interview in the video below.

And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.


*ChatGPT assisted.

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