Houston Texans owner Bob McNair made headlines Friday when it came out that he had responded to the NFL's anthem protests by saying, "We can't have the inmates running the prison."

There have been strong reactions on both sides, with some saying the language is unacceptable and other saying it was a figure of speech that's being taken out of context. McNair issued a statement apologizing for his choice of words.

"I used a figure of speech that was never intended to be taken literally," McNair said in the statement. "I would never characterize our players or our league that way and I apologize to anyone who was offended by it."

Warriors forward Draymond Green took to Instagram to express his opinion on the matter, saying that McNair's words sounded "Donald Sterling-esque." Sterling was the owner of the Clippers from 1981 until 2014, when he received a lifetime ban from the NBA after a recording of him making racially insensitive remarks was made public.

Green also addressed McNair's comments during the Warriors' shootaround on Friday in advance of their game against the Washington Wizards. He likened the remarks to when President Trump encouraged NFL owners to fire any players who kneel for the anthem by saying, "Get that son of a bitch off the field right now."

"First they were sons of bitches and now inmates?" Green said. "I know some inmates. They don't pay taxes. They're not community leaders. They're not (Malcolm) Jenkins, flying to the White House, flying to D.C., doing all these things to make a difference. They're not [Colin Kaepernick], donating $1 million. That's like, come on man -- inmates? That's unacceptable.

"... I wouldn't personally want to play for somebody who views me as an inmate. Because I haven't done nothing in my life to be an inmate. To be an inmate, you're either in hospital or in prison. I'm not in a hospital and I'm for damn sure not in a prison.

"Then you say, some people commented on my (Instagram) post that, 'Hey, it's a figure of speech.' Agree or disagree, figure of speeches aren't OK in 2017. If I come out and give a figure of speech that's not socially OK, I'm going to get fined. I'm going to get ridiculed. ... So why is that OK? I disagree with that. If you're an inmate, you're not playing. They pay taxes just like [McNair] pays taxes and, if I've learned a bit about business, maybe more. So it's a strong word to use about someone else's kids again. It's crazy."

The Warriors have been highly involved with politics, starting almost immediately following their NBA championship win in June. Throughout the summer they were bombarded with questions about whether or not they would attend a potential White House visit, until Trump rescinded their invitation after Stephen Curry expressed hesitation about whether he would go.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr has also been active in political discussion, and wrote a letter to President Trump following the incident, concluding it with "Don't divide us. Bring us together."