Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and current ESPN color commentator Troy Aikman expressed regret Thursday for comments he made during the Chiefs-Raiders game on “Monday Night Football.”
“My comments were dumb, just shouldn’t have made them,” Aikman said during a radio appearance Thursday, according to The New York Post. “Just dumb remarks on my part.”
During the first half of Monday nights game, Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones appeared to commit a strip sack against Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, until referees flagged Jones for a roughing the passer penalty after he landed atop Carr.
“I hope that the competition committee looks at this during the set of meetings, and we take the dresses off,” Aikman said following the play, according to FoxNews. (RELATED: Washington Commanders Head Coach Ron Rivera Apologizes to QB Carson Wentz)
Troy Aikman: “My hope is the [NFL] Competition Committee looks at this in the next set of meetings, and you know, we take the dresses off.” pic.twitter.com/5DqdLJ8Ccx
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 11, 2022
Aikman’s comments were soon met with criticism.
“A truly awful call, but let’s not overlook Troy Aikman’s sexist comment,” Fortune Magazine’s Rachel Schallom Lobdell tweeted.
A truly awful call, but let’s not overlook Troy Aikman’s sexist comment: “My hope is the competition committee looks at this in the next set of meetings, and we take the dresses off.”
— Rachel Schallom Lobdell (@rschallom) October 11, 2022
Yahoo! Sports writer Ryan Young also described Aikman’s comments as “a sexist trope” which was “offensive, cringy and lazy,” according to Fox News.
USA Today columnist Rex Huppke opined, “Longtime concussion recipient Troy Aikman has decided the National Football League is doing too much to stop players from brain-damaging each other,” the report continues.
Deadspin writer Chuck Modi tweeted, “Troy Aikman really needs to find a non-misogynistic way to critique the call besides “take the dresses off.”
Troy Aikman really needs to find a non-misogynistic way to critique the call besides “take the dresses off”.
And I say this as someone who heard this misogyny normalized by coaches as a kid & even participated myself. Way past time to end such sports talkpic.twitter.com/lHVhv6WdEv
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) October 11, 2022
Aikman offered praise of NFL officials during his Thursday radio appearance.
“I think the officials by and large do a terrific job,” Aikman said, according to The Dallas Morning News. “It’s amazing to me, in real time, how accurate most of the time they are. … It’s a thankless job that they’re in, and I don’t fault the officials so much.”
Aikman signed a five-year contract with ESPN for about $90 million dollars earlier this year, The New York Post reported.