‘Dust-Up’: Commanders Coach Jack Del Rio Apologizes for Capitol Attack Remark

The Washington defensive coordinator's Twitter comments have sparked controversy.

On the finale of Washington Commanders OTA's, the attention should have been on Carson Wentz and his ingratiation into the offense or Ron Rivera and his blowup after a hit knocked Dyami Brown out of practice.

Instead, the headliner was defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and the comments he made at the post-practice press conference.

Earlier this week, coach Del Rio took to Twitter to comment on the upcoming committee hearings and challenged why the hearings were taking place while the violent protests in summer 2020 were not receiving as much attention.

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Del Rio was asked about the tweet during Wednesday's press conference, and Del Rio responded with this answer:

"I can look at images on the TV, people's livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem," Del Rio said. "And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we're going to make that a major deal."

Del Rio was also asked whether he felt his comments would make an impact in the job the Commanders have to do.

"Anything that I ever say or write, I'd be comfortable saying or writing in front of everybody that I work with, players and coaches," Del Rio said. "I express myself as an American. We have that ability. I love this country, and I believe what I believe, and I've said what I want to say. Every now and then, there's some people that get offended by it."

Del Rio's comments received a ton of backlash on social media, which led to the Washington defensive coordinator making a statement on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.

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The Commanders return next week for mandatory minicamp from June 14-16.


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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.