The problem with troy Aikman's comments
There isn’t a single reasonable person who thinks Troy Aikman should be reprimanded for his questionable quip on “Monday Night Football.” But it doesn’t make you hysterical if you think that Aikman, and other male sports analysts, should remove those kinds of outdated expressions from their vernacular.
On MNF, Aikman railed against the officials when they called a ridiculous roughing the passer penalty on Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones. Jones brought down Raiders quarterback Derek Carr with a clean tackle from behind; yet, he was flagged.
“My hope is the competition committee looks at this in the next set of meetings and we take the dresses off,” said Aikman.
Bring out the hot takes and straw men.
Outside of a few histroinic actors on Twitter, nobody is trying to “cancel” Aikman. But that hasn’t stopped a myriad of outlets — ranging from the Daily Wire to the Forth Worth Star-Telegram — from publishing columns defending Aikman against an imaginary “woke mob” (it was more endearing when they called us “snowflakes”).
The column in the Star-Telegram cites two tweets from sportswriters who criticized Aikman Monday night as proof of this relentless onslaught he’s supposedly facing.
“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 talk,” tweeted Deadspin writer Chuck Modi.
“Oh boy, Troy. Aikman says on MNF what coaches say (or used to say) all the time—that is, complaining about roughness is a female ‘dress’ thing,” added Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Several women in sports media, including Denver sports reporter Arielle Orsuto, took issues with Aikman’s commentary, too. But nobody is calling for his job.
There is a middle ground here. The phrase, “take the dresses off,” implies women are weak and inferior. Understandably, women may be upset when they hear the lead analyst for MNF and three-time Super Bowl champ use that expression to express his disdain for a soft call.
“The big deal is, you’re using a phrase that suggests weakness, and it’s directly tied to women,” said NBC Sports Boston’s Trenni Casey on my podcast, Sports Media Mayhem. “Basically, you’re saying women are weak, and the NFL should stop acting like women. If he said, ‘The NFL should stop acting like a bunch of ladies,’ he would’ve gotten into even more trouble. But it’s the same thing. Just say, ‘You know what? Sorry, shouldn’t have said that, and I have to think more before I speak now. I know it’s wrong. I knew it was wrong as soon as I said it, and I’m so sorry it slipped out.’ That’s all you have to do.”
Exactly. As a gay man, those are often my feelings whenever I read about an athlete or broadcaster saying a homophobic slur. It’s called casual homophobia: these insults are so ingrained in sports culture, they’re part of the common vernacular.
Whenever somebody uses those slurs, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re homophobic. They could just be unaware.
The best way to change culture is to educate, not vilify.
“I don’t need you to donate to a women’s group, or take yourself off the air,” said Trenni. “ I would just like an acknowledgement of, ‘It’s a pretty antiquated thing to say, and I’m sorry that I’ve said it.’”
Is that so hard to ask?
—————————
Passan’s apology: ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan apologized this week for joking around with Justin Verlander’s brother, and his pal, Ben Verlander. The two exchanged a couple of vulgar insults.
Later, Passan apologized: “Earlier, a tweet directed at Ben Verlander crossed the line and was hurtful to many,” Passan wrote. “I deleted the tweet and sincerely apologize. Though Ben and I have known one another for a while and often joke on Twitter, it’s no excuse for my mistake. I will be better and learn from it.”
Count this as the latest reason to never joke on Twitter. Have all of your fun away from the cesspool, where it will be appreciated.
Belichick’s QB controversy?: Three days after Mac Jones’ injury, Bill Belichick said the QB was “a lot better than yesterday.”
Now, when asked about Jones’ status, Belichick says “we’ll see.”
He’s hinting at a quarterback controversy, because that’s what’s best for the football team. Belichick said Wednesday Bailey Zappe’s performance is completely “independent” from Jones’ return.
Nothing more, nothing less. There is not an actual QB controversy here, at least not yet. But why not plant the seeds?
Patriots ratings slide again: After scoring a 28 TV rating two weeks ago against the Packers, the Patriots fell back to a 23 Sunday against the Lions. That implies the Patriots have a new floor.
They’re now in the lower 20s, rather than upper 20s or lower 30s. There are worse, and better, places to be.