'Dumb' comment: ESPN analyst Troy Aikman laments sexist remark during 'Monday Night Football'
ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman is walking back his sexist comments made during a "Monday Night Football" broadcast that criticized the enforcement of roughing the passer calls.
In a regular appearance on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket in Dallas, Aikman stopped short of apologizing but recognized his mistake.
"Yeah, I mean, my comments were dumb," Aikman said during the appearance, according to the Dallas Morning News. "Just shouldn’t have made them, just dumb remarks on my part."
During Monday night's Kansas City Chiefs victory against the Las Vegas Raiders, following a questionable roughing the passer call enforced against Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, Aikman said he hoped the NFL's Competition Committee would take a closer look at the rash of calls and "take the dresses off."
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In particular, a pair of controversial calls from Week 5 have drawn scrutiny from fans and players alike. The first came in Sunday's 21-15 Buccaneers victory over the Falcons. Atlanta defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was flagged 15 yards on a third-down play late in the fourth quarter after he sacked Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. The penalty extended Tampa Bay's drive and allowed it to chew more time off the clock as the Falcons were trying to mount a comeback.
The call against Jones came when he sacked Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr, causing a fumble, which he recovered. Jones, however, also landed on Carr on the way down and was penalized for roughing.
"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 said. "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."
Aikman is in his first year as ESPN's analyst for "Monday Night Football" after the network hired him in March and paired him with long-time play-by-play partner at FOX Sports, Joe Buck.
Contributing: Scooby Axson
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ESPN analyst Troy Aikman said sexist remark during 'MNF' was 'dumb'
