Commanders players respond to Jack Del Rio’s insensitive tweets

Football was unfortunately a non-story at Wednesday’s OTAs practice, as Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was forced to address insensitive tweets he made referring to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol as a “dust-up.” In doing so, Del Rio compared the attack to nationwide protests against racial injustice provoked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed in 2020 while detained by Minneapolis police officers.

Del Rio addressed the media after Wednesday’s practice and defended his insensitive remarks, saying it’s his right as an American to express himself and has no problem voicing his beliefs around Commanders players and staff members.

Tensions reached a boiling point after Del Rio showed little remorse during the impromptu press conference, and Washington’s defensive coordinator unsurprisingly penned an apology on Twitter to take some (unnecessary) heat off the team.

Simply put, the apology didn’t appear genuine. While Del Rio stated he shouldn’t have referred to the violent attack on Capitol Hill as a “dust-up” he didn’t walk back his recent tweets comparing the insurrection and 2020 protests.

Being the huge story this is, some Commanders players were unfortunately asked to address the controversy. First up was team captain Jonathan Allen, who claimed to be unbothered by his defensive coordinator’s tweets and comments.

Commanders star Jonathan Allen responded to Jack Del Rio comparing the attack on the Capitol to the George Floyd protests.

"“Me personally, I don’t care about his opinion. As long as he shows up every day and he works hard, that’s what I want from my defensive coordinator.”“In my opinion, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. Some guys decide to share it on Twitter, some guys don’t. It doesn’t make one person better than the other. At the end of the day, you can have a difference in opinion and still respect one another. I feel like that’s what our country is about, that’s what our team is about”"

Whether Allen actually feels this way or was posturing so as to not create a firestorm at Commanders OTAs remains to be seen, but these comments, unlike Del Rio’s apology, appeared authentic from the Pro Bowl defender. Allen couldn’t have written up a better response, so credit to him for throwing cold water — not gasoline — on this combustible flame.

After Allen, cornerback Kendal Fuller was approached about police brutality and other troubling issues Del Rio was shockingly insensitive about.

"“I love NFL locker rooms because everybody’s so comfortable. We all know each other, we’re all comfortable with each other, everybody’s open to listening and hearing everybody… I think that’s how we grow.”"

Like Allen, Fuller hand’t come across Del Rio’s tweets before Wednesday. When informed of his DC’s stance, Fuller said the following.

"“I don’t have a reaction right now. If I have a reaction or feeling toward something, I’ll express that with him.”"

Allen and Fuller were the only Commanders to address the controversy. It’s unclear (probably unlikely) that they speak for the entire locker room, but the soft-spoken leaders did well to relieve some of the backlash facing Del Rio. Again, we’d love to know how each individual player and coach feels, but that’s an internal matter Ron Rivera and Co. will have to sort out behind closed doors.

If tensions do reach a boiling point within the locker room, Rivera was adamant in saying he’d intervene. Whether that entails firing Del Rio or having a strongly-worded conversation with his assistant remains to be seen, but this story likely isn’t going anywhere even after Allen and Fuller threw a wet blanket on it.