Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins says he felt “like a slave” after hearing late Texans Owner Bob McNair use the expression “inmates running the prison,” during discussions between owners and players about the national anthem protests.

Hopkins hastened to add, however, that he still felt McNair was a “good man.”

The star wide receiver made the comments in a recent interview with GQ.

“I went home,” Hopkins said when recalling how angry he was after hearing of McNair’s expression. “I ain’t going to practice today. Hell no. I was about to not play in the game.”It feels like I’m a slave again. Getting ran over. Listen to the master, go to work.”McNair used the rather common expression to suggest that the league couldn’t allow players to dictate policy through protest. However, after his comments were reported by ESPN, McNair received tremendous backlash for what many mistakenly perceived as an attempt to liken the players to criminals.McNair, now deceased, was 81 at the time he used the expression. Hopkins believes McNair’s advanced age played a part in his “ignorant” comment.

“But I took into consideration that he 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.

“I try to take into consideration that he’s done a lot of good for black people, so sh*t, you can’t take nothing away from that.”

Hopkins also expressed frustration about his team choosing to not give Colin Kaepernick a tryout after Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson got hurt in 2017.

“Yeah, I was upset. Everybody needed to give Kaep a look. 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. This dude played in the Super Bowl. I only had one Pro Bowl quarterback my whole career…that was Deshaun Watson and that was last year. So, sh*t,” Hopkins added.

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn