Del Rio fined $100K for Capitol riot remarks, deletes Twitter account

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera fined defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $100,000 for his comments comparing the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to the protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, the team announced Friday.

Rivera said in a statement that he met with Del Rio "to express how disappointed I am in his comments." The head coach added that Del Rio's fine will be donated to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund.

Del Rio downplayed the deadly insurrection while talking to the media Wednesday, doubling down on similar comments he made on Twitter earlier in the week.

The defensive coordinator apologized later Wednesday after a backlash. He said describing the Capitol riots as a "dustup" was "irresponsible and negligent," but he stood by his comments "condemning violence in communities across the country."

Del Rio deleted his Twitter account Saturday in the wake of his discipline from Washington.

Del Rio's remarks on the Capitol riot came a day before the start of public Congressional hearings about the events of Jan. 6.

The 59-year-old joined the Commanders in January 2020. He'd been out of the NFL since being fired by the then-Oakland Raiders at the end of the 2017 campaign.