Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio found himself in some hot water on Wednesday when he defended his controversial comments about the January 6 riots at the United States Capitol.
Del Rio referred to the insurrection as a “dustup” and questioned why the events following the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 weren’t met with the same outrage.
Del Rio issued an apology which claimed “I have fully supported all peaceful protests in America.”
Del Rio’s comments opposing peaceful protests during the National Anthem in 2016 are going viral in the wake of these comments.
This controversy all started when Del Rio shared a tweet on Monday.
“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,” he wrote.
Before his apology, Del Rio attempted to clarify his message to reporters on Wednesday.
“Why are we not looking into those things — if we’re going to talk about it — why are we not looking into those things?” Del Rio said. “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 dustup 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, and if we apply the same standard and we’re going to be reasonable with each other, let’s have a discussion. That’s all it was. Let’s have a discussion.”
Here’s his full apology:
“I made comments earlier today in referencing the attack that took place on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Referencing that situation as a dust-up was irresponsible and negligent and I am sorry,” Del Rio wrote in a statement on Twitter. “I stand by my comments condemning violence in communities across the country. I say that while also expressing my support as an American citizen for peaceful protest in our country. I have fully supported all peaceful protests in America.”