If you haven’t heard, Washington defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was busy on Twitter again this week. Del Rio’s tweets regarding the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol created another distraction for the Commanders and head coach Ron Rivera.
Rivera has spoken this offseason of dealing with many non-football issues and being “tired of it.” However, the head coach wasn’t making excuses and said the only way to fix things is to win on the field.
Del Rio and Rivera met with the media Wednesday after OTAs, with Del Rio being questioned about his tweets and opinions. He stood by what he said.
Rivera was also asked about Del Rio’s tweets, and if he has an opinion, he will keep things in-house.
“I’m not going to talk about, you know, stuff that I talk with my coaches about, especially stuff that’s off the field, not pertaining to football. It’s just, you know, everybody’s entitled to their opinion though,” Rivera said.
Regardless of how Twitter felt, Rivera handled this well. He’s not going to blast any of his coaches or players publicly. And perhaps, Rivera believes Del Rio was exercising his freedom of speech. One doesn’t have to agree or disagree with what Del Rio said, and perhaps Rivera doesn’t.
And what if Rivera has spoken to Del Rio about his Twitter usage? He doesn’t owe it to anyone to explain a private matter to the media.
Rivera was also asked if he is worried this will impact his team.
“Not necessarily,” Rivera answered. “And again, you know, does ever become an issue [or] situation, then we’ll have that discussion, but right now it’s something that, you know, I will deal with when it comes up.”
This upset some, including former Washington star Brian Mitchell, who hosts a radio show on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C.
Brian Mitchell, on 106.7 The Fan going off about Jack Del Rio’s tweets and Ron Rivera’s comments about them today: pic.twitter.com/Wp8CIzGm7G
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) June 8, 2022
Mitchell isn’t wrong in his opinion, either. But it is up to the coach on how he wants to handle anything involving his team, and he doesn’t owe Mike Florio, social media, radio shows, or angry fans an answer.
Rivera’s family has a deep military history, and he has spoken before about freedom of speech. It’s possible Rivera believes Del Rio is entitled to say what he wants on social media unless it does become a team-wide problem. Could it become an issue with the team? Maybe, maybe not.
Finally, Rivera was asked one more question on the topic: How would he deal with the situation if it arises?
“Well, how I deal it, I’m not going to share with you guys, because it’s going to be a private matter,” Rivera answered.
What was he supposed to say?
Unfortunately, Wednesday was just another day in Washington — or Ashburn.