Peaceful protests? In 1987, Jack Del Rio scuffled with Chiefs great Otis Taylor over replacement player

It has not been a banner week for Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. His comments about the January 6, 2021 insurrection on the United States Capitol, which Del Rio referred to as a “dust-up,” did not go over well. Del Rio eventually had to apologize, both the NAACP and the Fritz Pollard Alliance called for his firing, and he was fined $100,000 by the team,

proof of which was a statement released by head coach Ron Rivera. Del Rio’s comments, in which he referred to the insurrection as a “dust-up,” may be the “nail in the coffin” when it comes to the Commanders’ hopes for a new stadium.

In that statement, Rivera said, “Coach Del Rio did apologize for his statements on Wednesday and he understands the distinction between the events of that dark day and peaceful protests, which are a hallmark of our democracy.”

A nice thought, but history tells us otherwise. On the subject of Colin Kaepernick, Del Rio had this to say in 2016 as the then-Oakland Raiders’ head coach:

“I’ve never come to a point where I’ve had to address it. It’s always been understood; you stand at attention, you pay respect to our flag, our country, so it’s kind of always been kind of an assumed thing. I never really had to talk about it.

“I think the best way to look at it is in America as individuals we all have freedoms and that’s one of the things that make our country great. You may not always like or appreciate the fact that somebody else is expressing themselves. For us I think it’s more about recognizing you’re part of an

organization and you represent our organization and our organization believes that you should pay respect to the flag. Save those individual decisions to express yourself on an individual forum. That’s how we feel, in talking to Mark Davis, how the football team feels about it, how our organization feels about it, and that’s right in line with my thinking about it as well.