Thursday, the first public hearing by the committee investigating the insurrection against the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, will take place. There’s likely to be a lot of evidence presented about the attempted coup that allegedly involved extremely high-up members of the U.S. government.
It remains to be seen if the evidence presented at the hearings changes any minds about what happened, why it happened, and whether or not there should be punishments for those involved or who instigated it. But in the meantime, you can count Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio among those who don’t agree with the Congressional hearings and their quest for truth.
The former NFL player and current coach responded to a tweet by Norm Eisen of the Brookings Institute 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.
https://twitter.com/coachdelrio/status/1534002744922718208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1534002744922718208%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.audacy.com%2Fsports%2Fnfl%2Fjack-del-rio-gets-ratioed-for-tweets-about-jan-6-hearings
Del Rio, who coaches a team made up of predominantly Black athletes in a league that is predominantly Black, then seems to scoff at the notion that he was making a false equivalency regarding Black Lives Matter protests.
https://twitter.com/coachdelrio/status/1534185960128356355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1534185960128356355%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.audacy.com%2Fsports%2Fnfl%2Fjack-del-rio-gets-ratioed-for-tweets-about-jan-6-hearings
Pro Football Talk reached out to the Commanders for comment and they had none. However, there were plenty of comments from the NFL and politics world in response to Del Rio’s thoughts.
Because it wasn't a "summer of riots, looting, burning and the destruction of personal property". That you think it was, speaks volumes.
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) June 7, 2022
https://twitter.com/GaryLegum/status/1534182133723500544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1534182133723500544%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.audacy.com%2Fsports%2Fnfl%2Fjack-del-rio-gets-ratioed-for-tweets-about-jan-6-hearings
1000s of police were assaulted and 5 Americans lost their lives on 1/6. We need to know exactly what happened so we can prevent it from ever happening again. @coachdelrio You are a defensive coach–how about defending our democracy ? Our report is here https://t.co/61mUw4qv8C https://t.co/7oLxs1Q2Sx
— Norm Eisen (#TryingTrump out now!) (@NormEisen) June 7, 2022
Would actually love the opportunity to speak with Del Rio about the differences between January 6 and the 2020 police protests https://t.co/Y4nY1s3CQa
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) June 7, 2022
The 59-year-old former Jaguars and Raiders head coach has been eschewing conservative talking points and politics for years, so these comments aren’t surprising.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor 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.