As the NFL tries to become not only an American sport but a global one, the league has been initially targeting folks from Spanish-speaking countries.

And so the powers-that-be likely weren’t too pleased with the questionable comments made by ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser on Monday night.

Following a replay of the Felix Jones kickoff return for a touchdown with audio from the Spanish-language call of the game, Kornheiser said, “I took high-school Spanish, and that either means ‘nobody is going to touch him’ or ‘could you pick up my dry cleaning in the morning.’”

On the surface, the line was funny.  Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski laughed genuinely, not nervously.  But then there was a delayed reaction for us (and presumably others).  Did Tony just make a back-handed slap at Mexican immigrants, characterizing them generally as folks who come here only to do jobs like pick up our dry cleaning in the morning?

We’re not sure whether the remark crossed the line.  But it was too close to the line for Tony’s own good.  The remark would have worked just as well with something like, “I took high-school Spanish, and that either means ‘nobody is going to touch him’ or ‘my shoes are made out of marshmallows.’”

One of the dangers of extemporaneous speaking, of course, is that the speaker risks allowing his deeper biases and prejudices to seep through.  In this case, it’s possible that’s precisely what happened with Kornheiser.

Regardless of whether he shouldn’t have said it and what will happen next, Kornheiser offered up a bland, generic apology late in the game, which made to reference to what he said or whom he might have offended.  We doubt that many people made the connection to the comment from the first half.

It’ll be interesting to see whether this one sprouts legs.  If it does, we have a feeling it won’t be picking up Tony’s dry cleaning in the morning.