NAACP President calls for the firing of Commanders coach over Jan 6 remarks

The president of the NAACP has called for the firing of Washington Commanders coach Jack Del Rio over the longtime coach’s remarks regarding the upcoming hearing of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. 

“It is time for Jack Del Rio to resign or be terminated,” NAACP president Derrick Johnson said in a statement. “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.” 

Johnson also said in his statement that Del Rio shouldn’t be coaching a majority Black football team after making those remarks, saying that the coach has turned his back “on the Black community.” 

“Downplaying the insurrection by comparing it to nationwide protests, which were in response to a public lynching, is twisted,” Johnson added. “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.”

The statement comes after Del Rio, who is entering his third season as the Commanders’ defensive coordinator, apologized on Wednesday for earlier comments he made comparing the Capitol attack to the nationwide protests against police brutality that took place during the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, in which he referred to the insurrection as a “dust-up.”

“I see images on the TV, people’s livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem,” Del Rio said, responding to a reporter’s question about his earlier tweets on the matter during a media session. “And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re going to make that a major deal.”

“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,” Del Rio said in a tweet, adding that he fully supports peaceful protests in the country. 

“I stand by my comments condemning violence in communities across the country. I say that while also expressing my support as an American citizen for peaceful protest in our country. I have fully supported all peaceful protests in America,” the 59-year-old coach concluded. “I love, respect, and support all my fellow coaches, players, and staff that I work with and respect their views and opinions.”

Del Rio, a former NFL player who previously was the head coach of the then-Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars, has been very open about his conservative beliefs on social media in the past few years. 

The coach’s controversial tweets and remarks come as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack is set to hold its first hearing in the prime-time slot Thursday.

The Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, where pro-Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election, resulted in the deaths of five people.

The Hill has reached out to the Washington Commanders for comment.