One of the weirder controversies from last year developed when Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, a longtime color analyst for NFL games, revealed that he’d been jilted by Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. The story goes that Aikman and his broadcast partner, Joe Buck, were supposed to meet with Williams before a Monday Night Football game, as is customary before a national broadcast. However, the Bears quarterback never showed up, later insisting he lost track of time. This led to unusually sharp criticism from Aikman during the broadcast.
Buck later revealed that Williams did it again a few weeks later in the big rematch against the Washington Commanders. That was the first indication that the Bears quarterback might’ve been deliberately dodging them. It felt so unusual. Why would Williams do that? There was no reason for it.
Or so we thought.
Aikman recently joined the Miami Dolphins organization in an unspecified consultant role to help their search for a new general manager and head coach. During an interview with Clarence Hill Jr. of DLLS Sports, he admitted that he has knowledge and information on other teams, from coaches to players, that he’s happy to share with the Dolphins.
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Seems avoiding Troy Aikman was the right call.
In those statements, Aikman basically admitted that he was more than willing to act as a snitch to another team on the Bears’ operation. Such information would’ve been gained in those meetings before the nationally televised games. Whether Williams found out about the possibility or just got a bad vibe from Aikman is unknown. What matters is that his ducking those meetings with the Hall of Famer suddenly makes way more sense. He wasn’t about to let Aikman serve as a spy, happy to sell off information to the highest bidder.
This is the same stuff Tom Brady was accused of when he took part ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders, while still retaining his new role as a broadcaster. Many people felt it was a significant conflict of interest. It seems fitting that Aikman ended up being the one admitting the advantage it could give his new team. Ironically enough, the Bears will play the Dolphins this upcoming season. No doubt Williams will make sure to keep his distance from Aikman moving forward, whether he likes it or not.
Williams doesn’t owe Aikman anything.
Contrary to popular belief, players are not obligated to meet with TV crews before a game. It’s just been something networks request to help build the plotline of a big matchup. Troy Aikman has used his obvious star power in this role for many years. Who knows how many times he has used that inside knowledge to aid another coach or team he happens to like? He’d deny it, of course, but the point is he’s not impartial. Williams dodging him clearly hit a nerve, almost as if the young quarterback had no intention of kissing the ring.
All things considered, this is merely another reason not to like Aikman. Being the quarterback of the Cowboys during their greatest period was bad enough. Watching him belittle the Bears for so many years didn’t help matters. Now the team finally gets a quarterback worthy of praise, and he shows his true colors when Williams decides his time is better spent trying to win games.
