Dan Hampton apologize for Katrina remark

Bears Hall of Fame defensive lineman Dan Hampton suggested last week in an appearance on a Pro Football Weekly television segment that "the Vikings need to go down there and hit that town like Katrina."

Hampton's implication was that the Vikings need to be hyper-aggressive in dealing with the Saints' high-powered offense. His choice of words, however, was pathetically inappropriate.

Last night, Hampton apologized for the remarks.

"Obviously it was a throwaway line and I meant no ill will or intent," Hampton said, per the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "It was just horribly stupid."

Hampton, a 2010 Hall of Fame inductee, said he cherishes memories of Gulf Coast vacations, and pointed to his experience in 1986 at Super Bowl XX, in which the Bears crushed the New England Patriots at the Superdome.

"Some of my best memories are of New Orleans and I would never, it just...," Hampton said. "It was just stupid, a stupid thing to say. I regret it and I am sorry."