Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio deleted his Twitter account on Saturday, a day after his team fined him $100,000 for controversial comments about the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Del Rio was fined by Washington Friday for calling the riot a “dust-up.” He also attempted to compare Jan 6. riots to 2020’s racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd.
“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 initially tweeted out.
After facing backlash, Del Rio took back what he said, saying it was “irresponsible and negligent.”
Washington’s head coach Ron Rivera condemned his coordinator’s comments in a statement, calling the events that took place on Jan. 6 , 2021 domestic terrorism. He added Del Rio’s views don’t align with the Commander’s. Rivera also met with Del Rio to address his comments.
“[Del Rio] does have the right to voice his opinion as a citizen of the United States and it most certainly is his constitutional right to do so,” Rivera said in the statement. “However, words have consequences and his words hurt a lot of people in our community.”
Del Rio’s $100,000 fine will be donated to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund, Rivera said.