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A view of the helmet sticker honoring Robert C. McNair, the late owner of the Houston Texans, before a game against the Tennessee Titans.
A disagreement between Houston Texans owners in the McNair family, which has since come to involve the NFL itself, has taken a striking turn. Moreover, the latest twist comes from the league’s latest action.
Former Texans heir and ex-CEO of McNair Interests, Cary McNair, has been in a years-long battle with brother, Cal McNair, the team’s principal owner and CEO. Once Cary McNair’s attempts to litigate his brother fell through, he targeted the league as well.
The NFL has taken a major step toward resolving this matter as far as they are concerned.
NFL Moves to Dismiss Former Texans Heir’s Lawsuit
GettyHouston Texans owner Cal McNair looks on before a game against the Tennessee Titans.
The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan M. Alexander was the first to report on the NFL’s latest efforts to move past this matter involving the McNair family.
“The NFL filed a motion Friday in New York Supreme Court to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Tony Buzbee against the league on behalf of his client Cary McNair, according to a filing obtained by the Houston Chronicle,” Alexander wrote on December 12.
“Buzbee filed the lawsuit against the league in September on behalf of Robert Cary McNair, Robert and Janice McNair’s eldest son, claiming that the NFL and Texans owner Cal McNair worked to boot his brother from the family’s business interests, including the board of the trust that owns the Texans.”
KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson noted the league viewed it as a “last-ditch effort” from Cary McNair.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio characterized McNair as the “ousted Texans heir” amid his initial filings against the league.
According to Alexander, the motion claims McNair’s lawsuit is “legally baseless and factually incoherent.” The NFL believes McNair is trying to find a new way to win a battle that he has been losing against his family.
“For years, he insisted to other tribunals that his brother Cal McNair ‘orchestrated a hostile takeover’ of the family businesses (which include a trust that holds the Houston Texans NFL franchise) and ‘ousted Cary from his roles.’ Now, without explanation and contrary to everything he previously alleged, he says the NFL somehow engineered his removal,” the NFL’s motion says, per Wilson, claiming McNair only pointed to “routine approval of ownership adjustments.”
“That administrative approval has nothing whatsoever to do with Plaintiff’s subsequent terminations from separate McNair family businesses. His new theory is not just implausible; it is legally irrelevant and flatly inconsistent with his own prior positions.”
Cary McNair Took Legal Fight to Texans
GettyFormer Houston Texans player Andre Johnson walks on the field with Janice McNair after McNair was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor.
Cary McNair initially took his mother, Texans co-founder Janice McNair, to court in 2022. He requested a cognitive evaluation, claiming a stroke had left her incapacitated.
A judge ruled in Janice McNair’s favor regarding the evaluation.
Two family doctors had already declared her fit. All parties agreed to drop the case. Cary McNair was removed from the family’s trust and business ventures shortly thereafter, per Alexander.
That sparked his attorney, Tony Buzbee, of Deshaun Watson fame, to file the lawsuit seeking up to $100 million. They claim the NFL and Texans conspired against McNair.
“We allege that Cary McNair had the courage to voice his concerns about important management issues regarding serious, high-profile scandals involving the Houston Texans,” Buzzbee said in a statement, per Sports Litigation Alert in October. “We believe the evidence will be clear and overwhelming that the NFL intervened in the McNair family business to remove Cary McNair from his position as CEO, in an effort to silence Cary McNair. He won’t be silenced.”
Javier Loya Situation Among Red Flags Cary McNair Raised
GettyHouston Texans minority owner Javier Loya attends the OMEGA Speedmaster Houston Event.
One of the scandals that Alexander noted McNair had an interest in involved Javier Loya. Loya is a minority owner of the Texans. The NFL suspended Loya indefinitely over violations of the league’s personal conduct lawsuit on Thursday.
The suspension stems from charges of rape and sexual abuse filed against Loya in 2023.
Loya has been away from the Texans since the filing. He openly disagreed with the decision. He noted the charges were dismissed and that he had fully cooperated with the NFL’s investigation.
Buzbee, though, believes the NFL’s actions are connected to his client’s situation. Buzbee told Alexander that the motion was expected. However, he also said they expect it to fail. Buzbee said that is often the case with such actions.
“I thought it was very ironic the NFL took action yesterday, waited two years, which is one of the issues raised by Mr. McNair and the questions he had for the NFL,” Buzbee said via phone, per Alexander. “The timing of this is pretty suspect that they take action against Javier Loya, which they never would have done if not for our lawsuit.”
Neither the Texans nor the NFL has addressed the latest in the McNair family saga.
Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has covered both leagues since 2016, including bylines at FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He’s based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter
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