TROY AIKMAN has lifted the lid on what “severed” his relationship with Barry Switzer.
The former quarterback spent his entire NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys from 1989 to 2000.
Aikman felt he was accused of racism by the head coach[/caption]
Aikman won three Super Bowls and his final triumph came in 1995 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It was his second campaign under the leadership of head coach Switzer in Dallas after they worked together at Oklahoma.
But from 1995 onwards, the pair’s relationship turned sour.
Opening up in the new Netflix docuseries “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys”, Aikman alleges Switzer accused him of racism following comments he made in the locker room at wide receiver Kevin Williams over dropped passes.
Aikman explained: “He said there were some players that are saying that you only yell at black players.
“I said, ‘That’s bulls***’.
“If a player’s not doing what he’s supposed to do, I didn’t give two s**** as to what color he was.
“I mean, I was upset.”
Reflecting on his memories, Switzer told his side of the story: “I said, ‘You know what was said really bothered me and I think you really need to apologize’.
“I think it’s important that you do that.”
But Aikman was not having it, saying: “I think Barry thought that I would just accept that and then just go on down the road.
“Of course, whether it was Michael Irvin or Charles Haley or any of the others, they said it was a bunch of BS as well.
“That was the final nail that severed our relationship.”
Haley backed Aikman, saying: “S***, if Troy was a racist, me and him would’ve had problems a long time ago.”
Aikman had also been growing frustrated over Switzer’s coaching methods.
He revealed: “I went to Oklahoma with a coach who was pretty intense. He was every bit as intense as Jimmy Johnson.
“But the Barry that came to Dallas, he was totally different.”
Switzer wishes they never fell out, admitting: “The biggest regret I have with the Cowboys was my relationship with Troy.
“All I wanted to do was make us better. But at this point in time, there wasn’t anything to talk about.
“We have to overcome it and we have to move on from it. We can’t reschedule the season.”
NFL WEEK 1 SCHEDULE
(All times ET)
Thur 4 Sept
8.20 pm – Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Fri 5 Sept
8pm – Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers
Sun 7 Sept
1pm – Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
1pm – Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns
1pm – Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts
1pm – Las Vegas Raiders at New England Patriots
1pm – Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints
1pm – Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets
1pm – New York Giants at Washington Commanders
1pm – Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars
4.05 pm – Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos
4.05 pm – San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
4.25 pm – Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
4.25 pm – Houston Texans at Los Angeles Rams
8.20 pm – Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
Mon 8 Sept
8.15 pm – Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
