NFL Coach Fires Back After He's Criticized for Being a Trump Supporter
As NFL players, coaches and officials rush to out-woke one another, at least one coach remains a stalwart supporter of President Donald Trump and a supporter of the country that has given him so much.
Protests, riots and other forms of civil unrest since the death of George Floyd in police custody last month have seen many in the league align themselves quickly with the anti-police movement Black Lives Matter.
Once an apparent pariah in the NFL for his decision to kneel during the country’s national anthem before games during the 2016 season, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is now being hailed a hero.
Former Green Bay Packers star Brett Favre shocked many in the sports world this week when he compared Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the anthem to the sacrifice of former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman, who gave his life fighting for the country in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The recent rhetoric and unrest have even stirred Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, a former NFL linebacker who is generally viewed as the strong, silent type.
On Tuesday, Del Rio retweeted a post commenting on a doctored image of a quote falsely attributed to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The bogus image depicts a tweet from the Democratic congresswoman in which she says America’s governors should keep coronavirus restrictions in place in order to further tank the economy and hurt Trump’s re-election chances in November.
The coach shared it, writing: “Wow ?!! Proof….. c’mon AOC.”
Wow ?!! Proof….. c’mon AOC https://t.co/KNDRmzX6nH
— Jack Del Rio (@coachdelrio) June 24, 2020
While the screenshot the coach shared was not authentic, Del Rio’s succeeding volley of tweets were.
He shared a video from Twitter user Samantha Marika reminding the site’s users that Trump was not regarded as a “racist” by Democrats until he decided to run against them.
Fact not fiction https://t.co/M38UuiHTbs
— Jack Del Rio (@coachdelrio) June 24, 2020
Del Rio made it clear he isn’t onboard with the woke movement to delegitimize the country and everything it stands for.
A Twitter user who has since protected his posts from being viewed publicly tweeted a shot at Del Rio.
“Just found out @coachdelrio is a trump supporter. Wish these old racist would stay off Twitter,” the user wrote, per Fox News.
Del Rio responded with an unapologetically patriotic mic drop.
“I’m 100% for America, if you’re not you can kiss my A$$,” he said.
I’m 100% for America, if you’re not you can kiss my A$$ https://t.co/PKCLPIbqVJ
— Jack Del Rio (@coachdelrio) June 24, 2020
When Del Rio was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders, he offered his thoughts on the national anthem protests that had taken over the NFL at the time.
“I’ve told [my players] how I feel,” Del Rio said in November 2017, according to ESPN. “I love this country. I think it’s a great honor to be able to play football, coach football for a living, and so my thought is that everybody should pay respect to the flag and stand at attention, and that’s how I feel about it.”
“But it is America and everybody can make their choice and I’ve made that clear, too. So, anyways, that’s that,” he said.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
