Racial justice chief wants NFL coach fired after Capitol riot remarks

Civil rights organization the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has demanded that Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio be fired or hand in his resignation after making comments about the Capitol Hill riot of January 2021.

Taking to Twitter this week, the NFL figure referred to the deadly riot – where Donald Trump supporters looked to overturn his presidential election loss to US President Joe Biden – as a "dust-up".

Furthermore, Del Rio asked why the Capitol Hill fall-out was being investigated, while riots in response to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis law enforcement in the summer of 2020 weren't. 

Responding to this, NAACP president Derrick Johnson said in a statement that Del Rio should be out of a job.

Johnson insisted it was "time for Jack Del Rio to resign or be terminated" for remarks that "could not have been more offensive or ignorant," with the January 6 riot "far from a 'dust-up'."

"Each day we learn more and more on just how close our democracy came to autocracy," Johnson went on, adding that "downplaying" the riot by comparing it to nationwide protests which came "in response to a public lynching" was "twisted".

"You can’t coach a majority Black team while turning your back on the Black community," Johnson stressed in reference to the Commanders. "It’s time for you to pack up and step off the field."

Del Rio's initial comments were made on the eve of a House committee investigating the riot starting public hearings on the matter. 

"People’s livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem," he said. "And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re going to make that a major deal. I just think it’s kind of two standards."

After backlash to these remarks, Del Rio took to Twitter again apologizing for his choice of words while admitting that it was "irresponsible and negligent" to dub the riot a "dust-up".

He stood by his comments that condemned "violence in communities across the country", and also invited concerned black Commanders players to discuss the topic with him "at any time".

"I’m just expressing myself and I think we all as Americans have a right to express ourselves, especially if you’re being respectful. I’m being respectful," Del Rio claimed at a press conference on Wednesday.

"Anything that I ever say or write, I’d be comfortable saying or writing in front of everybody that I work with, players and coaches," Del Rio also said, while expressing himself "as an American".

"We have that ability. I love this country and I believe what I believe and I’ve said what I want to say. Every now and then, there’s some people that get offended by it," he pointed out.

Asked about Del Rio's tweet by a reporter, the Commanders' black defensive back Kendall Fuller said: "I don't have a reaction right now."

"If I have a reaction, a feeling, towards something, I’ll express that with him."

About to finish offseason training, the Commanders will soon start preparing for preseason where they are set to take on the Carolina Panthers on August 13 ahead of the regular NFL season.