Jack Del Rio may have apologized, but he is still drawing strong reactions after he defended one of his recent tweets drawing comparisons between racial justice protests in the summer of 2020 and the Jan 6th Capitol riot in 2021.
Jack Del Rio was replying to a news article about the Jan. 6 hearings asking why the summer of “riots, looting, burning and the destruction of personal property” isn’t getting the same level of attention by lawmakers, hashtagging the tweet #CommonSense.
Del Rio doubled down Wednesday while speaking to reporters during an OTA about the message he wanted to send with the tweet.
“I can look at images on the TV, people’s livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem,” Del Rio said Wednesday. “And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re going to make that a major deal?”
On Thursday, NAACP President Derrick Johnson released a statement saying Del Rio’s comments should cost him his job:
“It’s time for Jack Del Rio to resign or be terminated,” Johnson said. “His comments could not have been more offensive and ignorant. The January 6th insurrection — an attempted coup — was far from a “dust-up.” Each day we learn more and more on just how close our democracy came to autocracy. Downplaying the insurrection by comparing it to nationwide protests, which were in response to a public lynching, is twisted. You can’t coach a majority Black team while turning your back on the Black community. It’s time for you to pack up and step off the field.”
There has been no indication from the Commanders that Del Rio’s job could be in jeopardy, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. But a Virginia state senator called Del Rio’s remark’s, the “nail in the coffin” to end a discussion of the franchise’s efforts to secure public funding for a new stadium.
