Washington Commanders Fine Coach Jack Del Rio $100,000 for Rejecting Partisan Jan. 6 Narrative
An NFL coach will pay big for expressing his opinion on the Capitol incursion.
Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was fined a whopping $100,000 by head coach Ron Rivera on Friday.
The fine was levied in response to Del Rio’s remarks contrasting the 2021 incursion with riots and destruction instigated by anti-police activists following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Del Rio had questioned Congress’ focus on the events of Jan. 6 in a Tuesday tweet.
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
— Jack Del Rio (@coachdelrio) June 7, 2022
He went on to refer to the Capitol incursion as a “dust-up” in comments after a Wednesday team event, according to WUSA-TV.
“People’s livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down — no problem,” Del Rio told reporters. “Then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re going to make that a major deal?”
Commanders DC Jack Del Rio on tweet comparing George Floyd protest to the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan 6th
“Businesses are being burned down, no problem and then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down and we’re gonna make that a major deal.”@wusa9 #HTTC pic.twitter.com/GcuxOL6XZX
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) June 8, 2022
He later issued an apology for his remarks.
— Jack Del Rio (@coachdelrio) June 8, 2022
In a statement announcing the fine, Rivera made it clear that his team would not tolerate comparisons between “those who demanded justice in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the actions of those on January 6 who sought to topple our government.”
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) June 10, 2022
“What happened on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was an act of domestic terrorism,” Rivera said. “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.”
“Words have consequences and [Del Rio’s] words hurt a lot of people in our community.”
Rivera said the $100,000 fine would be donated to the U.S. Capitol Police Memorial Fund.
Insurance estimates peg the cost of the 2020 riots at over $1 billion.
Research indicates that as many as 18 people were killed in the unrest, according to Fox News.
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