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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Several legislators, who were called upon today by a group to repudiate another legislator's use of the word "rogue" to describe two other colleagues, said they did not take the comment to be negative when they heard it.

"Ms. Todd is entitled to her opinions," said State Sen. Linda Coleman.

The Committee to Develop Birmingham this morning held a press conference to call upon five state legislators to repudiate a recent comment by Alabama State Rep. Patricia Todd, who is white, that referred to two African American legislators from Jefferson County as "rogue" delegation members.

Todd, who is white, used the word in a comment referring to State Reps. John Rogers and Mary Moore at a July 30 meeting regarding the state takeover of Birmingham city schools. Others legislators in that meeting were Sens. Linda Coleman and Priscilla Dunn and Reps. Merika Coleman, Rod Scott, and Juandalynn Givan, who also are African American.

Todd today apologized if the use of the word rogue offended anyone. But she said she meant it as a description of someone who goes outside the consensus of the group, which in that case was the group of legislators. "I meant it in terms of their behavior ... my statement was an adjective, not a noun," she said.

Todd had made the "rogue" comment in reference to previous comments by Rogers and Moore. ''We have two rogue members of the delegation who, unfortunately, people think are speaking on behalf of the entire delegation. We all get lumped together,'' Todd had said.

Scott said that if Todd said "rogue" then he doesn't think he took it as a negative. "If I heard I probably took it in the way she (Todd) interpreted it," he said.

However, Scott said, he would never call a colleague a rogue representative.

Givan said she didn't think Todd meant the word "rogue" in the way some have interpreted it.

She said she believe that Todd was saying what she and other legislators have all said "that we don't all speak for each other."

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Alabama State Rep. Patricia Todd's use of the word "rogue" not viewed as negative by a few colleagues