Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera has fined defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $100,000 for making inappropriate comments about the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In a statement Friday, Rivera said he met with Del Rio to express his disappointment in his comments on Wednesday when Del Rio minimized the Capitol insurrection calling it a "dust-up" and argued coverage of those events was too heightened compared to coverage of the destruction of property during protests in the summer of 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd.
"His comments do not reflect the organization's views and are extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DMV," Rivera's statement said. "As we saw last night in the hearings, what happened on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was an act of domestic terrorism. A group of citizens attempted to overturn the results of a free and fair election, and as a result, lives were lost and the Capitol building was damaged.
"Coach Del Rio did apologize for his comments on Wednesday and he understands the distinction between the events of that dark day and peaceful protests, which are a hallmark of our democracy."
Rivera's statement went on to reiterate Del Rio's rights as an American to free speech and his right to voice an opinion, "However, words have consequences and his words hurt a lot of people in our community."
"I want to make it clear that our organization will not tolerate any equivalency between those who demanded justice in the wake of George Floyd's murder and the actions of those on January 6 who sought to topple our government," Rivera said.
Del Rio's fine will be donated to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund.
"I feel strongly that after our conversation this morning, he will have a greater understanding for the impact of his language and the values that our team stands for," Rivera's statement concluded.
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