Why was Jack Del Rio fined? Commanders order defensive coordinator to pay $100k for comparing U.S. Capitol insurrection to protest of George Floyd's murder
The Washington Commanders fined defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $100,000 over his recent comments regarding the U.S. Capitol insurrection and the protests of George Floyd's murder.
The 59-year-old spoke at a press conference earlier this week and astonishingly compared the attacks on the Capitol to the protests over the murder of Floyd.
Watch his press conference below:
Commanders Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio:
"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." https://t.co/99mF3uxUTD
As expected, the 59-year-old's comments were met with a fierce reaction, with many condemning the coaches' thoughts. Some wanted the defensive coordinator to be sacked immediately. Del Rio released a statement his Twitter account addressing his comments:
https://t.co/wm29NXGGAn
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Washington opted against sacking Del Rio instead of fining him $100,000 for his comments. It is a move that is unlikely to sit right with anyone as clearly people wanted a more severe punishment.
More news out of Washington: https://t.co/j9kpxxMUQM
The Commanders have not had the best offseason to date. First, it was Dan Snyder's indiscretions that took the NFL world by storm, to then the franchise being ridiculed for his signing of Carson Wentz after making it known they were in the market for a superstar quarterback, and now Del Rio's comments.
The season is still months away, and Washington already feels like it is on the backfoot.
Commanders are hopeful Wentz is the guy to turn the team around
The Commanders endured a rather up-and-down year last season, finishing with a 7-10 record and missing out on the playoffs after making it to the previous postseason.
Many felt that Taylor Heinicke isn't the guy to take the franchise forward, so they secured the services of Wentz in a bid to turn the organization around.
Wentz had perhaps the worst end to a season last year. Needing a win against lowly Jacksonville to punch the Colts' ticket into the playoffs, Wentz produced a horror show as he registered a quarterback rating of just 4.3. To put that into context, it is on a scale of 1 to 100, with 50 being average. That gives an insight into how bad he was, and Colts owner Jim Irsay had enough.
With Washington, Wentz has a fresh start and will want to put his best foot forward with his new team. If only the off-field issues stop.