Jack Del Rio deletes Twitter account after fallout from Capital riot comments

Del Rio caused a stir with a controversial take comparing the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to the protests surrounding the death of George Floyd. Del Rio then doubled down his take during a presser with reporters, calling the Capitol riots a “dustup.”

He later released a statement publicly apologizing. Commanders head coach Ron Rivera fined Del Rio $100,000 for his comment, saying he was “disappointed” in his defensive coordinator.

The money will be donated to the U.S. Capitol Memorial Fund.

Since being hired by the Commanders in 2020, Del Rio’s Twitter account has been a lightning rod for controversy. Earlier this month he told a user to “bite deez” in defense of defensive tackle Daron Payne’s contract holdout.

While that may have drawn a laugh from fans, his tweets and other activities on politics didn’t. Before he even coached a game for Washington, he was in the headlines for his pro-Donald Trump tweets, likes and retweets. 

Del Rio previously said he was open to discuss his controversial tweets with anyone, including his players.

Last week’s tweet and his comments with reporters proved drew a line for Rivera. As a result, Del Rio has decided to step away from Twitter.