Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio got fined earlier this week following comments he made to reporters about the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. After being asked to explain a post he made on his Twitter account where he criticized the congressional inquiry into the insurrection, Del Rio called what happened a “dustup” and referenced the summer of 2020 in which millions of Americans took to the street in protest of police brutality following the murder of George Floyd.
“Why are we not looking into those things — if we’re going to talk about it — why are we not looking into those things?” Del Rio said, per ESPN. “I can look at images on the TV, people’s livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem. And then we have a dustup at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re going to make that a major deal. I just think it’s kind of two standards, and if we apply the same standard and we’re going to be reasonable with each other, let’s have a discussion. That’s all it was. Let’s have a discussion.”
The comparison was patently ridiculous, and after he issued up an apology, Commanders coach Ron Rivera fined him $100,000 and excoriated him in a statement that said Del Rio’s comments “do not reflect the organization’s views and are extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DMV.”
Still, $100,000 is a drop in the bucket for Del Rio, and he will remain the defensive coordinator on a team whose defense was ranked 27th in DVOA last season. The whole situation caught the attention of Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed, who called for Commanders players to respond to these comments.
Today, im sick and tired! A dust up! 100,000 is not enough, money ain’t nothing to a person who is recycled through coaching. Its always one, first it was Saban now its Jack to just remind US what it is! Man if u coached by him put your pants on! Its simple right and wrong, Wrong
— Ed Reed (@TwentyER) June 11, 2022
Del Rio has since deleted his Twitter account.