Jack Del Rio Fined $100,000 for Comments on U.S. Capitol Invasion, Protests After George Floyd’s Murder

The Washington Commanders have fined defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $100,000 after his comments earlier in the week that referred to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol as a “dustup” and compared that day to “riots, looting, burning” during protests in the summer of 2020.

In a statement, Washington coach Ron Rivera said he met with Del Rio on Friday morning to express his disappointment in the coordinator’s comments.

“His comments do not reflect the organization’s views and are extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DMV [D.C.-Maryland-Virginia],” Rivera said. {snip}

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On Wednesday, Del Rio defended a reply he made on Twitter two days earlier, when he tweeted, “Would love to understand ‘the whole story’ about why the summer of riots, looting, burning and the destruction of personal property is never discussed but this is??? #CommonSense.”

Del Rio said he felt that there were two standards being applied and that he was just expressing his opinion. But in response to the final question of his news conference, Del Rio called the U.S. Capitol invasion a “dustup,” creating another controversy for the franchise.

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Rivera said Del Rio has a right to voice his opinion, “However, words have consequences, and his words hurt a lot of people in our community.

“I want to make it clear that our organization will not tolerate any equivalency between those who demanded justice in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the actions of those on Jan. 6 who sought to topple our government. … I feel strongly that after our conversation this morning, he will have a greater understanding for the impact of his language and the values our team stands for.”

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{snip} NAACP president Derrick Johnson called for Del Rio to “resign or be terminated” because of his comments.

“His comments could not have been more offensive and ignorant,” Johnson said in a statement. “{snip} Downplaying the insurrection by comparing it to nationwide protests, which were in response to a public lynching, is twisted. You can’t coach a majority Black team while turning your back on the Black community. It’s time for you to pack up and step off the field.”

However, sources close to some defensive players said they didn’t think there would be a division. A source close to defensive end Chase Young said Del Rio was “his guy,” and defensive tackle Jon Allen told NBC Sports Washington, “I don’t care about his opinion as long as he shows up every day and works hard. That’s what I want from my defensive coordinator.”

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