ASHBURN — Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio — who had steadfastly defended his outspoken comments on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol — apologized Wednesday after experiencing a wave of backlash for calling the attack a “dust-up.”
The criticism included one lawmaker who said the remarks are hurting the team’s pursuit of a new stadium.
Del Rio said Wednesday afternoon that his remark was “irresponsible and negligent.”
But the Commanders coordinator only backtracked so far, saying that he stood by his comments that condemned “violence in communities across the country” in wake of the death of George Floyd.
“I say that while also expressing my support as an American citizen for peaceful protest in our country,” Del Rio said in a statement. “I have fully supported all peaceful protests in America.”
Del Rio compared the 2021 Capitol attack and the 2020 racial justice protests in a reply to a tweet Monday about an upcoming congressional hearing. He wrote that he “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 told reporters this week after practice that he “just asked a simple question” and defended his right to do so as an American.
“I can realistically look at it, I can look at images on the TV, people’s livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem,” Del Rio said. “And then we have a dust-up 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. We’re Americans. Let’s talk it through.”
But the coach seemed to backpedal a bit after two lawmakers in Virginia — where the team is trying to rally political support for a new stadium project that would include a chunk of state funding — fired back.
State Sen. Jeremy Pike, a Prince William County Democrat, tweeted that Del Rio’s “dust-up” remark just “sealed the deal to cast my vote as a NO” — admittedly a little political grandstanding, since he’d already committed publicly to vote against the bill.
And State Sen. Scott Surovell, a Prince William County Democrat, tweeted the “indifference” to Del Rio from the NFL “underscores the league’s hypocrisy in blackballing [Colin Kaepernick] and also makes clear to me that we won’t be seeing any more votes on stadium bills this year.” State lawmakers were scheduled to vote on the stadium bill last week, but the vote got pushed until further notice.
Del Rio has used his Twitter account regularly to wade into politics. Just this offseason, Del Rio tweeted in support of Dinesh D’Souza’s voter fraud film “2000 Mules” and the judge who struck down the country’s federal mask mandate. In June 2020, he responded to a fan who criticized him for being a Trump supporter by tweeting: I”m 100% for America, if you’re not you can kiss my A$$.” He also reshared a fabricated tweet attributed to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
After comparing Jan. 6 and George Floyd, Del Rio was asked if he was worried that his political opinions could alienate any of his players. A number of them, after all, spoke out after Floyd’s killing by a police officer. Defensive end Chase Young, for example, joined fellow NFL stars in a campaign that called on the league to condemn racism. The Commanders also canceled a practice in August 2020 after the shooting of Jacob Blake. Del Rio said if any player had a problem, he would welcome a discussion.
“Anything that I ever say or write, I’d be comfortable saying or writing in front of everybody that I work with, players and coaches,” Del Rio said. “I express myself as an American. We have that ability. I love this country. I believe what I believe and I’ve said what I want to say. Every now and then, there are some people that get offended by it.”
Commanders coach Ron Rivera said he wasn’t “necessarily” concerned Del Rio’s tweets could impact the locker room. He declined to share whether the two had spoken about Monday’s tweet.
“I’m not going to talk about stuff that I talk with my coaches about, especially stuff that’s off the field and not pertaining to football,” Rivera said. “It’s just everyone’s entitled to their opinion though.”
Cornerback Kendall Fuller said he was unaware of Del Rio’s tweet and after it was read to him, the defensive back said he didn’t have a reaction. Asked if players still talk about social justice issues openly in the locker room, Fuller said discussions weren’t as prevalent but still occur.
Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen told NBC Sports Washington that he doesn’t care about Del Rio’s tweet.
“As long as shows up every day and works hard, that’s what I want from my defensive coordinator,” Allen said.
Outside of the facility, Del Rio was strongly criticized.
Former Washington running back Brian Mitchell ripped into Rivera and Del Rio on the radio, blaming the head coach for not condemning the message and calling the defensive coordinator a “damn idiot.”
Former cornerback DeAngelo Hall tweeted a clown emoji at Del Rio.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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