Sep 16, 2021; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Football Team defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio looks on before a game against the New York Giants at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
NFLPoliticsBy Sean Keeley on

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio made headlines on Tuesday when he responded to a tweet about the upcoming January 6 committee public hearing by saying he’d love to hear “the whole story “ about “why the summer of riots, looting, burning and the destruction of personal property is never discussed,” referring to the overwhelmingly peaceful social justice protests from 2020.

Defending a violent incursion into the U.S. Capitol as part of a larger effort to overturn elections by saying that it wasn’t as bad as a national protest movement against inequality doesn’t quite add up and many on social media took Del Rio to task over the notion.

Del Rio spoke with reporters on Wednesday and was asked about his comments, starting with whether or not his comments could impact his interactions with Commanders players.

As for whether his players might have concerns about his opinion, Del Rio said he’s an open book and would be happy to talk about it with anybody before launching into a more detailed explanation of his thoughts.

“Let’s get right down to it,” Del Rio said, via NBC4. “What did I ask? A simple question. Why are we not looking into those things, if we’re gonna talk about [January 6], why are we not looking into those things? Because it’s kind of hard for me to say, I can realistically look at it, I see the images on 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 gonna make that a major deal.”

Del Rio is, of course, offering up a false equivalency. The “why aren’t we talking about X” argument is a classic “whataboutism” device used when you don’t want the thing you agree with to be poked and prodded. It’s not too dissimilar to Aaron Rodgers asking why we don’t have debates about COVID vaccines.

Those debates and discussions happened, they just didn’t like the answers and refused to accept them, therefore, to them, the “debate” isn’t over.

As for referring to it as a “dustup,” that is one helluva to downplay the violent events of a day that led to seven people losing their lives. And when you look at all of the footage, photos, and recollections of that day, that kind of description doesn’t hold up either. It’s a crass a pathetic deflection from the truth.

To no one’s surprise, though Del Rio seems like the kind of person who will pretend to be surprised, his latest comments caused a “dustup” on social media.

The Commanders are a disaster of a franchise so who knows if they’ll step in at some point here. But otherwise, we have to imagine someone from the NFL is going to have to comment on this soon.

[NBC4]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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