PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : SUPER BOWL XXX : Aikman Defended on Racial Charges

According to a report in a Fort Worth newspaper, the Dallas Cowboys have bigger problems than quarterback Troy Aikman’s dissatisfaction with Coach Barry Switzer.

The Fort Worth Star Telegram reported that John Blake, the Cowboys’ former defensive line coach who left to become the head coach at Oklahoma, once accused Aikman of picking on black players.

The report said that certain players were upset when Aikman, who is white, threw a ball at tackle Erik Williams, who is black, at the end of their late-season loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Aikman and the players vigorously denied the allegations.

“It’s been discussed, it’s been resolved, and that’s all that matters,” Aikman said.

Receiver Michael Irvin said Aikman is not a racist.

“I’m as black as anybody you’ll ever see, I’m as black as they come, and I know that man loves me,” he said of Aikman. “If being racist is liking some people and hating some other people, then all of us are racist. I just know that Troy loves me.”

Defensive end Charles Haley laughed when told that Aikman supposedly yells only at black players.

“Look at our offensive huddle,” he said, noting that there are only two white players on the starting offense other than Aikman--fullback Daryl Johnston and tight end Jay Novacek. “Johnston never makes any mistakes, so he’s not going to yell at him. And Novacek never makes any mistakes either.

“So when he yells, he doesn’t have a lot of choice about what kind of person he yells at.”

Blake was on a recruiting trip to California and could not be reached for comment.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers players have finally admitted that maybe allowing cornerback Rod Woodson to play more than a few downs is not such a good idea. Woodson has been out since the first game of the season after having major surgery on his knee.

“You have to be careful not to mess up the chemistry we have back there,” strong safety Darren Perry said. “We’re just starting to jell back there. If you’re going to throw Rod in when he hasn’t been in there, you’ve got to be careful how you use Rod.”