'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABfAAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABxAAAQQDAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBBEABgcFExQBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMFEQACAgEFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEAAUREiEx/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwCLaJzNjaNYTpUdmH9PmX5zkOY/Y9a4yA6CspSSKCSBV5AJnN34UyRGceYK2HVtqKSoi0GjVgYxlO/BFBqV6KNeKJZkVRv4AcJXZ61Vie2hUk5//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Troy Aikman remains the last starting quarterback to win the Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys. Perhaps because of his success, there was a time when opponents found a different way to denigrate him.
It started with a book by Cowboys fan Skip Bayless, who speculated that Aikman was gay. Back in 2020, the quarterback furiously quashed those rumors, saying:
"I’m upset about it because it was made up and there was nothing accurate about anything that was insinuated. And he (Skip Bayless) did it, as he does everything, just for attention."
Troy Aikman went on to say that he probably should have responded at the time, but did not because of the advice he got from people around him.
"I am probably more upset because I probably should have responded to it at the time it was going on. The advice to me was, 'Hey, just don’t address it. It’s not worth it. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s ridiculous. All it’s going to do is have people continue to talk about his book'. So I didn’t."
He went on to reiterate that it is a ridiculous assertion and that he is alright with the lifestyle others have and it doesn't affect him, even though he is not gay.
"But I probably could have responded differently and maybe that would have changed things. Maybe it wouldn’t have. But it is ridiculous, and, yeah, it bothers me. If that is a lifestyle people choose, so be it. It doesn’t affect me one way or another. But it is not my lifestyle."
When Dexter Manley disparaged Troy Aikman
The rumors begun by Skip Bayless have continued to this day. Perhaps no better example could be found than when Dexter Manley appeared on radio and proceeded to refer to Troy Aikman with a slur.
The former Washington great, who won two Super Bowls with the team, insinuated that the former Dallas quarterback was "a queer." He subsequently apologized, saying:
"In an interview with WTOP radio Monday, while intending to be funny, I used a slur to refer to Troy Aikman. It was wrong and insensitive. Anyone that knows me knows that’s not who I am in my heart or mind. I want to apologize to Troy, but I mostly want to apologize to anyone else I offended.
"Like a lot of people in these times, I have to realize that what I thought was funny years ago doesn’t work now. I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again and hope you will accept my apology."
Whether that is the last we hear of this rumor remains to be seen.
