Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was fined $100,000 for referring to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol as a “dust-up,” coach Ron Rivera announced Friday.
Rivera said in a statement he made the decision to fine the coach because “our organization will not tolerate any equivalency between those who demanded justice in wake of George Floyd’s murder and those who sought to topple our government.” Rivera said he met with Del Rio Friday morning to issue the fine.
The $100,000 will be donated to the U.S. Capitol Police Memorial Fund, Rivera said.
“His comments do not reflect the organization’s views and are extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DMV,” Rivera said. “As we saw [Thursday] night in the hearings, what happened on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was an act of domestic terrorism. A group of citizens attempted to overturn the results of a free and fair election, and as a result, lives were lost and the Capitol building was damaged. Coach Del Rio did apologize for his comments on Wednesday and he understands the distinction between the events of that dark day and peaceful protests, which are a hallmark of our democracy.”
“He does have the right to voice his opinion as a citizen of the United States and it most certainly is his constitutional right to do so. However, words have consequences and his words hurt a lot of people in our community.”
Del Rio made the comment Wednesday in an attempt to defend an earlier tweet that compared Jan. 6 to the protests that took place after George Floyd’s murder in the summer of 2020. The remark prompted a wave of backlash, causing Del Rio to apologize hours later.
“I feel strongly that after our conversation this morning, he will have a greater understanding for the impact of his language and the values that our team stands for,” Rivera said.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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