Commanders DC Jack Del Rio Apologizes After Calling Jan. 6 Insurrection At The Capitol A ‘Dust Up’

Jack Del Rio is apologizing after some public comments he made about the January 6th Insurrection in comparison to last summer’s riots following the death of George Floyd.

In a press conference, the Washington Commanders defensive coordinator referred to the Jan. 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as a ‘dust up’

“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. “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 question was in response to Del Rio’s tweet responding to about the Congress’ Jan. 6 Committee that is investigating what happened on that day:

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The House committee investigating the 2021 insurrection will conduct its first public hearing Thursday. The six hearings, which are expected to last until late June, will be the first time the committee discloses “previously unseen material” about what it has discovered in the course of a 10-month investigation that has touched nearly every aspect of the insurrection.

Following the comments during his press conference, Del Rio apologized for calling Jan. 6 a ‘dust up’ but stood by his comments about the riots last summer:

This is not the first time Del Rio has caused a stir with his tweets, though there are no indications it has become an issue with his players. Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen told NBC Sports Washington that the tweets were not a locker room topic.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion,” Allen said. “Some guys decide to share it on Twitter; some guys don’t. You can have a difference of opinion and still respect one another. I feel that’s what our country is about, that’s what this team is about. I don’t care about his opinion as long as he shows up every day and works hard. That’s what I want from my defensive coordinator.”

The Commanders have had a turbulent offseason, at least when it comes to non-football matters. Congress continues to investigate the organization and owner Dan Snyder in particular for the workplace culture; a hearing is scheduled for June 22.

Congress also sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission saying the organization committed financial improprieties. The team rebutted those claims in a 105-page letter of its own to the FTC.