Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has apologized for referring to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol as a “dust-up.”
The longtime defensive coach and former player originally made the comment in a Twitter post while responding to a tweet from the Brookings Institution about the upcoming hearings.
“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?” Del Rio wrote.
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
Del Rio’s point, of course, was that the level of concern on the left for the summer of rioting that left hundreds dead or hospitalized, thousands of homes and businesses in flame, and millions upon millions of dollars in property damage lost, does not seem on par with their level of concern over the relatively less serious riot at the U.S. Capitol that took place on January 6.
On Wednesday, Del Rio doubled down on those remarks, saying he was simply “expressing himself” as he has a right to do.
Commanders DC Jack Del Rio on his recent tweet (https://t.co/odv7zr4BOn) at today's media session
"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."@nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/zH39iSqHM8
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) June 8, 2022
However, the media coverage of Del Rio’s main point about the inconsistent levels of interest in the Floyd riots versus January 6 took a back seat to his characterization of January 6 as a “dust-up.” After several hours of media-led social media backlash, Del Rio issued an apology for calling the Capitol riot a “dust-up.”
— Jack Del Rio (@coachdelrio) June 8, 2022
It is noteworthy that Del Rio did not apologize for his statement about the lack of seriousness shown by Congress regarding the Floyd riots versus January 6. Instead, he confined his apology solely to calling the Capitol riot a “dust-up.”
Also noteworthy that none of his players expressed disappointment or anger toward him over his tweet. Defensive leader Jonathan Allen, for example, spoke of respect for differences of opinion.
Jon Allen's comments on DC Jack Del Rio's tweets ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4ln6gG5ARV
— NBC Sports Commanders (@NBCSCommanders) June 8, 2022
Del Rio is entering his third season as defensive coordinator in Washington.
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