Joe Flacco Apologizes For Calling Cold-Weather Super Bowl 'Retarded'

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco apologized after calling the idea of holding a Super Bowl in cold weather “retarded.”

Flacco, who will be under center when the Ravens take on the San Francisco 49ers Sunday in Super Bowl XLVII, was asked what he thought about having a Super Bowl in cold weather.

“Yeah, I think it’s retarded,’’ he said, according to the Baltimore Sun. “I guess I shouldn’t say that [word]. I think it’s stupid. If you want to have a Super Bowl, put a retractable dome on your stadium, then you can get one. Other than that, I don’t really like the idea. I don’t think it would suit us badly. I think we would react very well to it and would be glad to play anybody in that kind of weather. I can’t see that really being a good idea.”

The Super Bowl has either been played indoors or at in a domed stadium. Sunday’s Super Bowl will be played in the Superdome in New Orleans, hardly a wintry city. Last year’s game was played in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which has a dome.

Flacco has since apologized for using “retarded” in his comment.

"Obviously, it was a bad choice of words. I wish I hadn't said it," the former University of Delaware quarterback said Tuesday, according to NFL.com. "I have a great relationship with Special Olympics back in Baltimore and have had one for many years. I didn't mean to offend anybody, but I definitely apologize for it."

Some football purists would like to see the big game played in a cold weather city that doesn’t have a dome, where weather conditions can influence the game.

But Flacco does not hold that view.

“Imagine being in 10-degree weather and snow. Have fun,” he said.

Before Flacco made his apology, Twitter users ripped into the Ravens quarterback for his poor choice of words.

“Joe Flacco described an outdoor superbowl in the cold as ‘retarded’ and the dude wonders why nobody likes him,” tweeted Taylor Rosen.

“Lost a lot of respect for joe flacco using ‘retarded’ on national tv. Kids are gunna watch that and think its okay. #goniners,” wrote Dylan Sherman, a special education major at Western Kentucky University.