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NAACP Calls For NFL's Jack Del Rio To Be Fired/Resign After J6 Comments (6/10/22 03:12 PST) (1 Viewer)

GordonGekko

Footballguy
Direct Headline: NAACP calls for Jack Del Rio’s job after Jan. 6 ‘dust-up’ comment

Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP, called for the Washington Commanders’ defensive coordinator to resign or be fired...“It is time for Jack Del Rio to resign or be terminated...His comments could not have been more offensive and ignorant. The January 6th insurrection — an attempted coup — was far from a ‘dust-up.’ Each day we learn more and more on just how close our democracy came to autocracy. Downplaying the insurrection by comparing it to nationwide protests, which were in response to a public lynching, is twisted. You can’t coach a majority Black team while turning your back on the Black community. It’s time for you to pack up and step off the field.....”

Del Rio’s comments also were condemned by the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a diversity group that works closely with the NFL on its minority hiring....“Jack Del Rio’s initial comments regarding the protests of supporters for Black Lives Matter go against the values of the Fritz Pollard Alliance and what the NFL should stand for...."

The Commanders and the NFL did not respond to requests for comment about Johnson’s statement.

Del Rio tweeted: “Would love to understand ‘the whole story’ about why the summer of riots, looting, burning and destruction of personal property is never discussed but this is ??? #CommonSense.”

https://twitter.com/coachdelrio/status/1534002744922718208

“Really, let’s get right down to it. What did I ask? A simple question,” Del Rio told reporters Wednesday. “Why are we not looking into those things if we’re going to talk about it? 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 dust-up at the Capitol. Nothing burned down, and we’re not going to talk about — we’re going to make that a major deal.....”

But by then, two Virginia state senators — Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) and Jeremy S. McPike (D-Prince William) — said they could no longer support a bill authorizing a stadium authority and helping lure the team to Virginia. Surovell tweeted that the NFL’s “indifference & intolerance” to Del Rio’s comments reflects its “hypocrisy” and “makes clear to me that we won’t be seeing any more votes on stadium bills this year.”...A group of D.C. legislators said Thursday they would not support bringing the team to the District at the RFK Stadium site, and Virginia Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) pulled the plug on the Commonwealth’s efforts, saying there would be no vote on a stadium bill this year....

By Nicki Jhabvala and  Mark Maske  June 9, 2022 at 4:24 p.m. EDT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/06/09/del-rio-naacp-resign/

VIDEO: Commanders DC Jack Del Rio responds to criticism over recent tweets | NBC Sports Washington Jun 8, 2022

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio addressed the criticism around his recent tweets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gJPUDutePc

VIDEO (For Del Rio): Black NFL Player DEFENDS Jack Del Rio's Comments SLAMMING BLM As NAACP Calls For Coach To Be FIRED! Jun 9, 2022 Black Conservative Perspective

Jack Del Rio’s recent tweets and ensuing comments elicited strong reaction from those affiliated with the NFL and now a prominent civil rights organization. Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP, called for the Washington Commanders’ defensive coordinator to resign or be fired for his comments comparing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to the racial protests that followed the murder of George Floyd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv7Vn43-qQs

VIDEO (Against Del Rio): Stephen A. to Jack Del Rio's comments: I appreciate him opening up a bigger convo | First Take Jun 9, 2022 ESPN

Stephen A. Smith & Ryan Clark react to Jack Del Rio's comments on the Capitol insurrection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIkDsZFKG38

Direct Headline: Ex-NFL star Brian Mitchell unleashes on Jack Del Rio over Jan. 6 ‘dust-up’ comments

“We have a coach who we sit up here and we try to put on a pedestal as he’s this disciplinarian, and he got a damn defensive coordinator who constantly pokes the gosh darn bear, okay?” Mitchell said.... “I care about [Rivera] getting his damn D coordinator in control before somebody beats his ### up. That’s what I care about. I care about somebody stopping this man from constantly poking his little racial bear with what he’s doing. That’s what I care about.....We got to understand one thing: This football thing is cool. But there’s a lot of stuff that’s going on with that football team that is not cool....And when you have Jack Del Rio, who constantly feels, ‘I can just go out and say whatever the hell I want to say’ – why? Because the coach never says anything to him? You got all these issues going on with the Washington Commanders right now, and he’s constantly trying to make waves because of stupidity. And you wonder why that team wasn’t disciplined last year, because your damn leader that’s leading your defense is not disciplined. I give a damn about that.....”

Del Rio later apologized, saying: “I made comments earlier today in referencing the attack that took place on the United States Capitol on January 6,2021. Referencing that situation as a dust-up was irresponsible and negligent and I am sorry.”...He did, however, say he stood by his comments “condemning violence in communities across the country.”

https://twitter.com/coachdelrio/status/1534644933457547269

By Jeremy Layton June 9, 2022 12:43pm

https://nypost.com/2022/06/09/brian-mitchell-rips-jack-del-rio-over-jan-6-dust-up-comments/

Direct Headline: Jack Del Rio, in news for Jan. 6 comments, scuffled with Chiefs’ Otis Taylor 35 years ago

Del Rio later apologized, but for some his “dust-up” comment was a reminder of his role in a fight with former Chiefs wide receiver Otis Taylor during the 1987 NFL football player strike.... According to The Star’s previous coverage, Del Rio and other players were picketing at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 23 when Taylor, who was a scout for the Chiefs at the time, walked out of the facility with a tryout player. Del Rio didn’t recognize Taylor and called him and the other man a “dirty scab” and a “lowlife.”..... Del Rio grabbed Taylor around the neck and pulled him to the ground. The two then exchanged blows. As others were trying to break up the fight, as former Star sportswriter Randy Covitz recalled on Twitter, they were saying Taylor’s first name, and then Del Rio stopped punching. “Otis? Otis Taylor?” Del Rio said, “I loved watching you as a player.”..... Taylor, who at the time said his lip was bleeding, filed a criminal complaint and Del Rio filed an assault complaint, but prosecutors did not file charges because of “insufficient evidence.” Taylor also filed a $1 million lawsuit against Del Rio, player representative Nick Lowery and the NFL Players Association. The case was settled out of court two years later.....

By Pete Grathoff June 09, 2022 12:14 PM

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article262342717.html

Direct Headline: Another Virginia state senator explains why he will vote no for Commanders stadium bid

The Virginia government will vote to determine whether the state will give the NFL franchise $350 million in taxpayer dollars to help build a new stadium...Another member of the Virginia Senate, Democrat Jeremy McPike, who represents the 29th District, is a native of Prince William County. Prince William County is where the Commanders recently bought approximately 200 acres for $100 million in their bid to build a new stadium....McPike was one of 32 state senators to vote yes in February on a bill that would support Washington’s bid for a stadium. Gov. Glenn Youngkin initially said he wanted the Commanders in Virginia and was prepared to commit up to $1 billion to the project....Over the last several months, that number has gone down to $350 million, and McPike believes that number will continue to go down....So, how much does McPike believe the state would offer the NFL franchise?...“My guess is you’re going to see right under $300 million, if I had to guess today....”

Bryan Manning May 27, 2022 7:00 am ET

https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/2022/05/27/another-virginia-senator-explains-why-he-will-vote-no-for-commanders-stadium-bid/

*******

Do you believe Jack Del Rio should resign or alternatively should be fired by the Washington Commanders for his recent comments about J6?

Do you believe Del Rio should have apologized for his comments?

Do you agree with Del Rio's viewpoint? Why or why not?

Do you agree with the reality that Del Rio's past will be dredged up, the Otis Taylor incident from 35 years ago as an example, to search for a way to "cancel" him?

Do you believe this will impact the remainder of Del Rio's future coaching career and options?

Do you believe NFL players and/or coaches and/or any member of the respective franchise or the league apparatus should make public comments about politics? Why or why not? And to what limit?

Do you agree or disagree with the response of Virginia state senators Surovell and McPike on canceling future talks "this year" about the state helping to fund a new stadium, via tax dollars, for a Commander's potential relocation bid?

I'll leave this here for others to discuss.

 
Ron Rivera on Washington's $100K fine of Jack Del Rio:

"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"

 
tonysmiles said:
Absolute Bu||$h|t all he did was use his platform and ask the following why is the government not also investigating all the looting, loss of businesses that occured in the George Floyd riots while we are conducting a full scale investigation of a dust up that occured at our Capital on January 6th.

It is becoming very disturbing how if when we speak freely if it does not fit the narrative there is retribution.  Our republic will remain free for the remainder of my life but I can see suppression like citizens in China suffer soon during my children's lifetime here in the USA.  Never thought I would say that.
Couldn't agree more. That's why this country is going down the toilet. Have an opinion on something that side doesn't like, they jump up and down like petulant children. It's sickening. 

 
Eh, I don't agree with Del Rio's comments either, but this seems like punishing a person based entirely on their political views.  Not what we need right now.

On the bright side, at least we can stop wringing our hands about Colin Kaepernick.  Nobody can possibly object to how he was treated if they're okay with this.  (Thinking of one poster in particular here).

 
tonysmiles said:
Absolute Bu||$h|t all he did was use his platform and ask the following why is the government not also investigating all the looting, loss of businesses that occured in the George Floyd riots while we are conducting a full scale investigation of a dust up that occured at our Capital on January 6th.

It is becoming very disturbing how if when we speak freely if it does not fit the narrative there is retribution.  Our republic will remain free for the remainder of my life but I can see suppression like citizens in China suffer soon during my children's lifetime here in the USA.  Never thought I would say that.


Which was a completely inappropriate use of his platform. I don't want to hear a coach's political views when he is speaking to the press about his team at a podium.

 
Which was a completely inappropriate use of his platform. I don't want to hear a coach's political views when he is speaking to the press about his team at a podium.
His platform was a social media account, I thought.  He was then asked about those comments while at a podium, to which he pretty much answered I said what I said, and I’d like to talk about the football team.  

 
His platform was a social media account, I thought.  He was then asked about those comments while at a podium, to which he pretty much answered I said what I said, and I’d like to talk about the football team.  


And it was the comments at the podium that brought him all the trouble, as it wasn't just his personal social media account. And he doubled down while speaking to the press at a podium while representing the team. 

 
LOL at the people trying to turn Del Rio into a martyr. Assistant coaches are always one misstep away from being fired. Unlike players, they don't have a union and are on at-will contracts. In this case, JDR said something that ticked off his HC, so he got fined. Does anyone dispute that Rivera had the right to do that? If you don't like it, go get yourself hired as an NFL head coach and then you can have a different policy regarding your assistants' public statements.

 
Ron Rivera on Washington's $100K fine of Jack Del Rio:

"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"
Pretty good statement there.

 
Whenever he's at a team function he's representing the team.  That includes before the game, at practice when he wore pig socks, all those times. 


Players are free to wear any socks they want during practices at training camp, the NFL has no specific rules on that. And the 49ers apparently had no problems with the pig socks as they said nothing to Kaepernick the times he wore them. 

 
To be honest I’m surprised he wasn’t fired.  There are some things you just can’t say in 2022 America.

 
Can't help but notice that some of the folks complaining about Del Rio getting fined are simultaneously cheering on Ron DeSantis punishing Disney and the Rays.  If a private employer fining an employee for political statements is wrong, then surely a governor punishing corporations for political statements is much worse.

 
What about it? It was a silent kneeling protest before the game and he wasn't at podium before reporters speaking for the team. 
You don’t want to hear a coaches political views in the off-season when directly asked about it, fine.  Then I guess you also wouldn’t want to see a players political views during the season, especially when not being directly asked about them.  

 
You don’t want to hear a coaches political views in the off-season when directly asked about it, fine.  Then I guess you also wouldn’t want to see a players political views during the season, especially when not being directly asked about them.  


I don't want to hear a coach's political views at any time when he is standing a podium, supposedly representing the team, while being asked questions by sportswriters.

 
I don't want to hear a coach's political views at any time when he is standing a podium, supposedly representing the team, while being asked questions by sportswriters.
And that’s a fine view to have.  Honestly, I totally agree.  Sports are an escape from politics, the economy, work, personally situations and so forth.  At the same time, I don’t want to see a player’s political views DURING a game broadcast.

 When comparing one against the other, though…in the off-season isn’t as bad to me as during a game (even if pregame).

What Del Rio said and did was wrong and stupid.  He shouldn’t have done it.  I’m pretty much ok with some type of repercussions (assuming it wasn’t a direct response to the NAACP statement),  though not quite sure of this particular fine.  Still thinking it over.

 
While I'm certainly not shedding any tears for Del Rio (and suspect it may be calculated to maximize earnings away from the game; granted I skew tin-foily in some regards), I think disciplining him is garbage, and I hate this sort of stuff. I mean I get it's a PR-driven game but I wish it weren't with respect to personal conduct. Same goes for Deshaun Watson, Adrian Peterson, Ezekiel Elliot and Ben Roethlisberger. If the law takes them off the field, okay, but if they're free to walk the streets, I think they should be free to play.

I just don't care what players and coaches do. I have a pretty low opinion of humanity in general and fully accept that people who entertain me may be absolutely awful, whether it be sports, performance arts, politics (but I repeat myself) or what have you. Show me someone innocent, and I'll show you there's no proof. I just want to watch games.

 
Which was a completely inappropriate use of his platform. I don't want to hear a coach's political views when he is speaking to the press about his team at a podium.
Did you condemn Steve Kerr? Because if you didn’t then this seems like a very poor argument. 

I like it when coaches speak out. I’m glad Steve Kerr made his comments about guns. Jack Del Rio is a dumb ### (always has been going back to his days at USC) but his comments weren’t racist nor does he deserve to be fined for them IMO. They were dumb though. It’s a dumb argument. 

 
Where is the 6 or 7 Congressional investigations?
There have been over 100 cases of arson related to the protest in Minnesota that have been investigated by federal authorities, do you think that there should also be Congressional investigations as well?

 
Did you condemn Steve Kerr? Because if you didn’t then this seems like a very poor argument. 

I like it when coaches speak out. I’m glad Steve Kerr made his comments about guns. Jack Del Rio is a dumb ### (always has been going back to his days at USC) but his comments weren’t racist nor does he deserve to be fined for them IMO. They were dumb though. It’s a dumb argument. 


I don't know who Steve Kerr is. 

 
There have been over 100 cases of arson related to the protest in Minnesota that have been investigated by federal authorities, do you think that there should also be Congressional investigations as well?


You bet.  :thumbup:

If the Democrats in Congress were as interested in "justice", "truth" and "holding those accountable" they would be having investigations into BLM/Antifa and doing the same thing.

They're not, and that should indicate to you that they really aren't that serious about "justice", "truth" and "holding those accountable".

 
You bet.  :thumbup:

If the Democrats in Congress were as interested in "justice", "truth" and "holding those accountable" they would be having investigations into BLM/Antifa and doing the same thing.

They're not, and that should indicate to you that they really aren't that serious about "justice", "truth" and "holding those accountable".
My understanding is that Congress doesn’t have the authority to investigate ordinary citizens.

Jack said in part, “why are we not looking into those things”

Well those things have in fact been looked into by federal authorities.

Either Jack was unaware of the federal investigations, or he was spouting off some false equivalency nonsense.

It appears that the Commanders or at least Ron Rivera thinks it was the latter, hence the fine.

 
I think JDR and Kaep and Kerr and everyone else have the right to speak their minds. And in some cases they may suffer consequences for expressing those opinions. (Kaep’s consequences were way worse than JDR’s, so I’m not sure why people who are critical of the Del Rio fine are holding Kaep up as a counter example).

I really don’t have any problem with any of this, and I confess I don’t really understand why others do. It’s like we’re can’t just say that we disagree with Rivera’s decision to fine Del Rio. We have to argue that it violates some sacred principle, or demonstrates that the NFL is biased against conservatives or something. Sometimes people do things that you disagree with, but that they nonetheless have the right to do

 
My understanding is that Congress doesn’t have the authority to investigate ordinary citizens.

Jack said in part, “why are we not looking into those things”

Well those things have in fact been looked into by federal authorities.

Either Jack was unaware of the federal investigations, or he was spouting off some false equivalency nonsense.

It appears that the Commanders or at least Ron Rivera thinks it was the latter, hence the fine.


Not buying it.

They have the ability to investigate organizations, like BLM/Antifa.  I mean, how many times have we seen facebook and microsoft being called in?

 
I think JDR and Kaep and Kerr and everyone else have the right to speak their minds. And in some cases they may suffer consequences for expressing those opinions. (Kaep’s consequences were way worse than JDR’s, so I’m not sure why people who are critical of the Del Rio fine are holding Kaep up as a counter example).

I really don’t have any problem with any of this, and I confess I don’t really understand why others do. It’s like we’re can’t just say that we disagree with Rivera’s decision to fine Del Rio. We have to argue that it violates some sacred principle, or demonstrates that the NFL is biased against conservatives or something. Sometimes people do things that you disagree with, but that they nonetheless have the right to do


No, they weren't. 

 
I consider having your career ended prematurely to be worse than keeping your job and getting fined $100K, but YMMV.  :shrug:


No one ended his career prematurely.  In fact, the Broncos wanted to trade for Kappy.  Who knows what would have happened had that trade occurred.  Kappy got benched, then didn't get his contract renewed.  He could have continued his career if he'd wanted to.  He chose to be a SJW.  And there's nothing wrong with that.  But no one ended his career. 

 
No one ended his career prematurely.  In fact, the Broncos wanted to trade for Kappy.  Who knows what would have happened had that trade occurred.  Kappy got benched, then didn't get his contract renewed.  He could have continued his career if he'd wanted to.  He chose to be a SJW.  And there's nothing wrong with that.  But no one ended his career. 


Yes indeed, but only if he would take a pay cut and gave up something like $8 million that was guaranteed. If was a low ball offer and no one in their right mind would have taken it. 

 
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Not buying it.

They have the ability to investigate organizations, like BLM/Antifa.  I mean, how many times have we seen facebook and microsoft being called in?
I’m not so sure corporations like Microsoft fall under the ordinary citizens category

Organizations like BLM certainly aren’t in the same category as corporations like Microsoft

 
If JDR said "anyone who believes there was property damage, rioting or looting during the BLM riots is fabricating that info because it did not happen" or "Justice Kavanaugh should just suck it up because he knew what he was getting into as a SC Justice" would he have been fined?  Just trying to get a handle on whether the precedent set here is that any political speech by an Assistant-Coach gets fined or if it is political speech that certain groups disagree with (as well as the question of which groups qualify for this treatment) gets fined...just looking for clarification on this.

 
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If JDR said "anyone who believes there was property damage, rioting or looting during the BLM riots is fabricating that info because it did not happen" or "Justice Kavanaugh should just suck it up because he knew what he was getting into as a SC Justice" would he have been fined?  Just trying to get a handle on whether the precedent set here is that any political speech by an Assistant-Coach gets fined or if it is political speech that certain groups disagree with (as well as the question of which groups qualify for this treatment) gets fined...just looking for clarification on this.
I think all of us are going to be watching for this and seeing how it plays out, because we all know it's only a matter of time.  What JDR said was kind of dumb IMO, but people say similarly-dumb things in the other direction all the time.  

The reason why this story is is troubling is because it isn't like JDR used a slur, told a sexist joke, disrespected the national anthem, or anything like that.  This seems like a nice, clean example of punishing someone for wrongthink.  To be clear, Del Rio really is wrong, but being wrong about a political issue shouldn't have any professional consequences.  Everyone posting in this forum, me included, is wrong about lots of stuff, after all.

 
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If JDR said "anyone who believes there was property damage, rioting or looting during the BLM riots is fabricating that info because it did not happen" or "Justice Kavanaugh should just suck it up because he knew what he was getting into as a SC Justice" would he have been fined?  Just trying to get a handle on whether the precedent set here is that any political speech by an Assistant-Coach gets fined or if it is political speech that certain groups disagree with (as well as the question of which groups qualify for this treatment) gets fined...just looking for clarification on this.
Well, to be clear here, he was fined because his private employer found what he said to be objectionable/bad for business.  If his private employer was a MAGA guy, he wouldn't have been fined.  Should his employer have fined him?  I don't think so, but that's not really relevant.  If we want private employers to be able to self-govern, then we probably let them self-govern.  Had the Warriors fined Steve Kerr, my answer would be the same.

I'm much more concerned about government intrusion into private political speech.

 

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