Ed Reed, Ron Rivera Blast Jack Del Rio for Jan. 6 Comments

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was fined $100,000 for his comments last Wednesday that referred to the Jan. 6 riot  as a “dustup.”

You read it right.

The fine comes after Commanders head coach Ron Rivera issued a scathing rebuke of his colleague’s “extremely hurtful” words on Friday, which culminated in Rivera issuing the unnecessarily large fine to Del Rio.

pic.twitter.com/86bJREVDsq

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) June 10, 2022

Rivera was the first to openly condemn Del Rio by the NFL. Former Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed jumped onto the bandwagon immediately. 

The Hall of Famer took to Twitter to criticize Rivera’s decision to fine the man $100,000 for a poor choice of words. He even got Alabama’s head coach Nick Saban to join his tirade, even though Saban isn’t the best thing to have done recently, except complain about NIL agreements changing the college football landscape, and that has nothing to do Del Rio. 

Today I am tired and sick! It’s time to dust off! 100,000 is not enough, money ain’t nothing to a person who is recycled through coaching. You are always the one. First it was Saban, now it’s Jack. He’d have you put your pants on if he coached you! Simple right and wrong.

— Ed Reed (@TwentyER) June 11, 2022

It’s ridiculous to think that we have reached a point in society where an offense as minimal as Del Rio’s (if you even want to call it an offense) is so bad that certain people think more needs to be done in addition to the hefty fine.

Although the Jan. 6 Riot is sometimes called a dustup, this does not diminish the severity of the event. It was shameful and shameful. Del Rio did not say it was irrelevant, he only said that it was smaller than the 2020 riots. 

Here’s the clip from an interview last Wednesday that provides more context for the quote that got Del Rio in trouble.

Commanders Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio:

It’s easy to see the images shown on TV. Businesses are burning down and people are losing their livelihoods. The Capitol is still standing, but there are no fires, so we will make this a big deal. pic.twitter.com/99mF3uxUTD

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 8, 2022

An apology was all it would take to correct the small mistake. We often get angry reactions from Americans, which can be reminiscent of Reed or Rivera. These responses are usually accompanied by dramatic solutions to minor problems.