SEATTLE – More than 30 members of the Houston Texans took a knee and several sat during the anthem before Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks in protest of owner Bob McNair's comment that "we can't have the inmates running the prison."

At least seven Seahawks players – five in uniform and two inactive players – sat during the anthem, continuing the protest Michael Bennett started earlier this year.

“It was a lot of emotions. Just a huge sense of unity I think that we all felt,” Texans left tackle Duane Brown said. “Just coming out and playing for each other, forgetting everything else. Once kickoff started, we tried to block out any other distractions.”

The Texans' demonstration came on the heels of intense negative reaction from players in Houston and around the league on Friday after McNair’s “inmates” comment was reported in an ESPN story that detailed what happened during league meetings in New York City last week. McNair’s remark was made during an owners-only session to discuss the protest issue.

Owners did not vote to change a policy that would require players to stand for the anthem during that meeting.

McNair issued two public apologies via statements distributed by the Texans. In the first statement Friday morning, he said he regretted using the word “inmates” as part of a figure of speech, and he never intended for it to refer to his players. On Saturday, he attempted to further clarify his comments by saying he was referring to the relationship between the league office and team owners and “how they have been making significant decisions affecting our league without adequate input from ownership.”

But McNair did not meet with Texans players until Saturday, a day after star receiver DeAndre Hopkins and rookie running back D’Onta Foreman skipped practice. Left tackle Duane Brown told reporters on Friday that players considered a mass walkout but ultimately decided to practice and fly to Seattle.

McNair’s apologies and Saturday’s meeting did not appear to do much to assuage players’ concerns. Brown, playing in his first game with Houston this season after a prolonged holdout, said Sunday evening that his opinion of McNair did not change after that meeting, which he described as going “not too well.” He said he was not sure if players would have more discussion with McNair on the issue.

As the anthem began, Texans players looked around at each other and then the majority knelt in unison. Many players held hands or linked arms. Only 10 players chose to stand, and some did so with a hand on a teammate’s shoulder.

“When the comments first came out, it was like, this is serious. How far are they going to take it? To see them what they did today, I wasn't surprised,” Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin told USA TODAY Sports. “I'm 100 percent backing them. I'm supportive of what they did, the decision that they made, because those were egregious comments, and the lackluster apology is just hard to deal with.”

Among those who chose to kneel were Hopkins and quarterback Deshaun Watson. Both of those players declined to comment Sunday evening on McNair’s quote, or for Hopkins, why he chose to skip Friday’s practice.

Hopkins answered several questions about the issue by repeatedly saying, “The Seahawks played a great game.” He was asked if he had made a personal decision to not speak about this or other social issues.

“Actions always speak louder than words, especially when they’re peaceful actions,” Hopkins said.

Sunday marked the first time this year that any Texans players have demonstrated during the anthem, beyond when the team stood with linked arms during Week 3. Brown previously raised a fist during the anthem in 2016.

Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.

PHOTOS: NFL players' protests