Troy Aikman discusses Tom Brady's legendary NFL career
FOX NFL analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman discusses Tom Brady's retirement and his new beer brand on 'Fox & Friends.'
Liberal journalists erupted that Troy Aikman was sexist after the "Monday Night Football" commentator remarked on a controversial penalty that it was time to "take the dresses off" with regard to excessive roughing-the-passer calls.
During Monday’s Kansas City Chiefs-Las Vegas Raiders game, Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones appeared to sack Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, forcing a fumble and recovering the ball. But, because Jones landed on Carr as he made the play, officials threw a flag for roughing the passer.
"I hope that the competition committee looks at this during the set of meetings, and we take the dresses off," Aikman said on ESPN, seemingly upset by the call.
Shortly thereafter, left-leaning members of the media voiced their disgust with Aikman’s choice of words.
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Troy Aikman was selected first overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1989 NFL Draft and went on to win three Super Bowls with the team. He was inducted into the Pro Hall of Fame in 2006. (Otto Greule Jr /Allsport/Getty Images)
Yahoo! Sports writer Ryan Young immediately wrote about the penalty and Aikman’s commentary, calling his comment "offensive, cringy and lazy."
"Aikman is far from alone in wanting the NFL to adjust the rules surrounding this type of play. Former head coaches Tony Dungy and Sean Payton called for it on Twitter almost immediately after the play Monday night," Young wrote. "Yet Aikman using a sexist trope to make a point was offensive, cringy and lazy. The Hall of Famer, after more than two decades in the broadcast booth, should know better by now."
USA Today columnist Rex Huppke offered his own unique solution to balance fair play calls with safety, making sure to take jabs at Aikman along the way.
"Longtime concussion recipient Troy Aikman has decided the National Football League is doing too much to stop players from brain-damaging each other, saying during Monday night’s game that the league should "take the dresses off" when it comes to roughing-the-passer penalties," Hupple chided.
He said that instead of taking the dresses off, as Aikman suggested, the NFL should just lose the helmets and pads, opting for completely nude football games.
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Aikman joined ESPN this year after a lengthy run as a color commentator for Fox's NFL broadcasts. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
"Aikman’s old team is famous for its scantily clad Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Why not have the players go a few steps beyond that?," Huppke later said. "It would surely make the on-field hits softer. And as far as the tough-guy, pro-bro attitude Aikman espouses? Trust me, anyone playing football in the nude has some seriously big … courage."
Aikman also faced criticism over on Twitter, where journalists continued to write out their frustrations.
Fortune Magazine editorial director Rachel Schallom Lobdell agreed that the referee's call was "truly awful," but also criticized Aikman for his "sexist comment."
InsideHook managing editor Bonnie Stiernberg was particularly frustrated with Aikman.
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Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones was called for a penalty for roughing the passer. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
"I guarantee you that if Troy Aikman and every other man who says sh-- like this had to experience menstrual cramps ONE TIME, they would shut the f--- up," she tweeted.
But perhaps no one was more contemptuous towards Aikman over his remark than Deadspin sportswriter Chuck Modi, who engaged in a lengthy Twitter thread to discuss his concerns.
"Troy Aikman really needs to find a non-misogynistic way to critique the call besides 'take the dresses off,’" Modi initially wrote. "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 talk."
Modi went on to argue with several Twitter responses that felt Aikman’s comment was overblown, and not important in the grand scheme of things. Modi disagreed, writing that it was "misogynistic mockery."
"The triggered cheerleaders for Troy Aikman’s language just prove so many men are so limited in their vocabulary that they can’t articulate a thought about toughness w/o demeaning women. May I suggest a thesaurus," he wrote the next morning.
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Aikman joined ESPN this year after a lengthy run as a color commentator for Fox's NFL broadcasts. A three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys, Aikman was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.
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