The Washington Commanders fined defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $100,000 after his comments this week comparing the 2020 protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The team announced Friday that Commanders coach Ron Rivera levied the fine on Del Rio, which will be donated to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund.
“This morning I met with Coach Del Rio to express how disappointed I am in his comments on Wednesday,” Rivera said in a statement. “His comments do not reflect the organization's views and are extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DMV. As we saw last night in the hearings, what happened on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was an act of domestic terrorism. 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. Coach Del Rio did apologize for his comments on Wednesday and he understands the distinction between the events of that dark day and peaceful protests, which are a hallmark of our democracy. He 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. However, words have consequences and his words hurt a lot of people in our community. I want to make it clear that our organization will not tolerate any equivalency 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.
“After reflecting on the situation and circumstances, I have decided to fine Coach Del Rio $100,000, which the team will donate to the United State Capitol Police Memorial Fund. I feel strongly that after our conversation this morning, he will have a greater understanding for the impact of his language and the values that our team stands for.”
The $100K punishment comes after the 59-year-old posted a tweet comparing the protests and insurrection. On Wednesday, Del Rio defended his opinion during a press conference, downplaying the insurrection, calling it a "dust-up."
"People's livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem," Del Rio said at the time. "And then we have a dust-up 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."
After his "dust-up" comment went viral, Del Rio later released an apology saying his terminology was "irresponsible and negligent." Del Rio also deleted his Twitter account a day after the fine was announced.
Del Rio's comments drew scorn from former Washington players, other NFLers, and scores of media members. The NAACP also called for Del Rio to resign or be fired following the comments.
Several Commanders players were asked how they felt about Del Rio's comments this week. Defensive captain Jonathan Allen told NBC Sports Washington: "I don't care about his opinion. As long as he shows up every day and he works hard, that's what I want from my defensive coordinator."
The former Jaguars (2003-2011) and Raiders (2015-2017) head coach has been the Washington defensive coordinator since Rivera took over the operation in 2020.
After Washington's defense in 2020 ranked second in total yards allowed, second in passing yards allowed, fourth in points per game and sixth in sacks, it dropped to 22nd in total yards allowed, 29nd in passing yards allowed, 25th in points per game and 17th in sacks in 2021.