• The Washington Commanders announced Friday that they had fined defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $100,000.
  • The coach had characterized the Jan. 6 Capitol riots as a "dust-up" in comments to media Wednesday.
  • Del Rio later apologized and the NFL team said it would donate the fine to the US Capitol Police Memorial Fund.

The Washington Commanders will fine defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $100,000 after he characterized the deadly January 6, 2021 insurrection as a "dust-up." 

The Washington Commander's defensive coordinator had compared the insurrection on January 6, 2021, to unrest after the murder of George Floyd.

"I can look at images on the TV, people's livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem," Del Rio said Wednesday. "And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we're going to make that a major deal?" 

In a statement released Friday, head coach Ron Rivera said that Del Rio's comments do not reflect the views of the team or the organization and he is "disappointed" in Del Rio for making them. 

"What happened on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was an act of domestic terrorism," the statement said. 

The statement acknowledged Del Rio's apology for his comments and said Del Rio "understands the distinction between the events of that dark day and peaceful protests, which are a hallmark of our democracy." 

"Words have consequences and his words hurt a lot of people in our community," Rivera said in the statement. 

The statement said the team will donate the $100,000 fine to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund. 

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