Ron Rivera, Ed Reed 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 managed to get Alabama coach Nick Saban involved in his tirade. Even though Saban’s worst act is complaining about the impact NIL deals had on college football, it has nothing whatsoever to do with Del Rio. 

Today I am tired and sick! Get up and dust yourself! 100,000 is not enough, money ain’t nothing to a person who is recycled through coaching. The answer is always one. At first, it was Saban. Now it’s Jack. If you’re coached by him, put on your pants! 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 disgraceful. Del Rio didn’t say that the Jan. 6 riot was insignificant. He said only that it was minor in comparison to 2020’s 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:

I can see images from the TV. People’s livelihoods and businesses are being destroyed. We then have some dust at the Capitol. Nothing was destroyed, and that’s a huge deal. pic.twitter.com/99mF3uxUTD

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 8, 2022

To correct this small error, a simple apology would suffice. Because Americans are so sensitive, many people react in ways that remind us of Reed and Rivera. They also offer dramatic solutions for small problems.