Dallas Cowboys great Troy Aikman is one of the most recognizable voices in the sport, which is why he is held to a high standard. Some fans are not happy with his comment on Chris Jones’ foul.
Aikman, showing his frustration with the league’s recent penalties, said he “hopes the competition committee will watch him in meetings and that we take off our robes.”
This commentary is obviously out of date and out of place in a professional broadcast booth. It is for this reason that it has received backlash on social media and from experts, who would prefer to avoid this type of language.
Sports publications from Yahoo to the New York Post denounced Aikman’s comment, and for good reason.
As a national voice of the NFL, Aikman’s comment cannot be encouraging to fans. And from the league’s point of view, Aikman’s statement doesn’t help his efforts to grow the game among that demographic.
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman angry with difficult passes.
Chris Jones’ Monday night penalty is one of many week 5 penalties that made league commentators wince. Jones apparently got all the weight of him on Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, causing a reaction from Aikman. Under NFL rules, here’s why Jones was penalized:
“… A defender must not knock him down or land on him unnecessarily or violently with all or most of the defender’s weight. Rather, the defender should strive to wrap the setter with the defender’s arms and not land on the setter with all or most of his body weight. “
However, that doesn’t justify Aikman’s comment, especially if he offended or discouraged some viewers. Conversely, ESPN should be more concerned than most of the thinking, given the money they have poured into both the NFL and Aikman himself.
Following: Micah Parsons attacked the NFL on Twitter for Chris Jones’ penalty.
