Commanders' Jack Del Rio Apologizes for Calling Capitol Breach a 'Dust-Up'
June 8, 2022
Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has apologized after calling the Jan. 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol a "dust-up" on Wednesday.
On Monday, responding to a tweet about the upcoming Jan. 6 committee hearings, Del Rio seemed to equate the insurrection to the civil unrest over police violence sparked by George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Del Rio called the insurrection a "dust-up" in response to a question about Commanders players potentially taking issue with his tweet.
Greg Price @greg_price11Commanders Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio: <br><br>"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 dust up at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we're going to make that a major deal." <a href="https://t.co/99mF3uxUTD">pic.twitter.com/99mF3uxUTD</a>
Del Rio later apologized for his comments via social media, saying it was "irresponsible" of him to reference the insurrection as a "dust-up":
Per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, the Commanders did not have a comment at this moment about Del Rio's tweet.
Del Rio did say he would have "no problem" if anyone wanted to talk about his comment and said he was asking "a simple question" in a respectful manner.
Per CNN's Paul LeBlanc, the House select committee is scheduled to hold its first public hearing over the attack on the Capitol on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
The hearing is expected to be "a broad overview of the panel’s 10-month investigation and set the stage for subsequent hearings, which are expected to cover certain topics or themes."
This isn't the first time Del Rio has created controversy on Twitter. In June 2020, he shared a fake picture attributed to New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and tweeted support for then-President Donald Trump, while telling everyone who wasn't "100% for America" to "kiss my A$$."
Washington head coach Ron Rivera hired Del Rio as defensive coordinator in January 2020. The 59-year-old is entering his third season with the Commanders.
Prior to being hired by Washington, Del Rio spent three seasons as head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 2015-17. He went 25-23 with one playoff appearance in 2016.