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Troy Aikman is expressing his regret for using a remark many felt was sexist during ESPN’sMonday Night Footballbroadcast earlier this week.
While commentating on the game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, Aikman, an ESPN analyst, said the NFL should “take the dresses off” after Chiefs' defensive lineman Chris Jones was called for a roughing the passer penalty after knocking Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to the ground.
“I hope that the competition committee looks at this during the set of meetings and we take the dresses off,” he said on the broadcast, according toYahoo Sports. Aikman was criticized for the “dresses” comment, which many felt wassexist.
While speaking with radio station KTCK-AM on Thursday, Aikman referenced the comment and admitted he shouldn’t have said it.
“But the other part of … what came from that, what I said was that it implied that I’m not in favor of protecting the quarterbacks, which could not be further from the truth,” Aikman, a former Cowboys quarterback, added. “I’m totally in favor of the protection that the quarterbacks are afforded, and all players for that matter. But there’s no question there has been over-enforcement of the protection for quarterbacks.”
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Aikman went on to say that he did believe the game was being “over-officiated,” but complimented the officials for doing their jobs — one, he says, is often “thankless.”
He added: “I do think we’re, as I said, I think we’re over-officiating it. But these are the rules. I mean, as the rule reads and if you watch that in real-time, it would be hard to look at that play with Chris Jones in our game and not feel like he landed on the quarterback with his body weight, you know? "
“I would imagine that there’s been enough outcry about it that I would think that the powers that be will take a hard look at it this offseason,” said Aikman, “and see if maybe they can correct it.”
source: people.com
