Bob McNair issued a public apology Friday for saying "We can't have the inmates running the prison" during last week's meeting between a group of owners and players about ongoing protests during the national anthem.

"I regret that I used that expression," McNair said in a statement. "I never meant to offend anyone and I was not referring to our players. 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."

After the owners finished talking, NFL executive Troy Vincent said he was offended by McNair's characterization of the players as "inmates." Vincent said that in all his years of playing in the NFL -- during which, he said, he had been called every name in the book, including the N-word -- he never felt like an "inmate."

McNair contributed more money to the combination of the Donald Trump campaign, aligned Super PACs and inaugural committee than any other NFL owner.