The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has apologized for using the term “midget,” which is considered a derogatory term for little people.
“Earlier today I made a reference which I understand may have been viewed as offensive,” Jones said Tuesday. “I apologize.”
Jones used the term during a Cowboys training camp in California, in an attempt to commemorate the late Director of College and Pro Scouting Larry Lacewell. The director died at 85 years old in May. Jones claimed to miss Lacewell so much that he suggested someone “get me somebody, a midget” to dress like his late friend to stand with him at practices.
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Little People of America, a nationwide support group for those with dwarfism, called out the reference because it “stigmatizes people born with dwarfism” in a statement Tuesday.
“Midget is a term that has widely been known to be derogatory for years and should be common knowledge to anyone in the public arena, such as Jerry Jones. Ignorance at this point is simply not an excuse. Any use of this disparaging slur along with suggestions or insinuations that our stature exists for amusement is deplorable and inexcusable,” its statement read. “The millions of individuals with dwarfism around the globe already face unfair disadvantages in their daily life due to their disability including discrimination, harassment, and assault.”
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The Cowboys have yet to make a public statement on the matter. Jones has been its owner since 1989.
