Was Ron Rivera right to fine Commanders DC Jack Del Rio for Capitol Riot comments?

Jack Del Rio and Ron Rivera must have been looking forward to a strong season in 2022. With the Washington Commanders having undergone a facelift this offseason, ditching the "Football Team" moniker and becoming a true successor to the previous iteration of the franchise. With that being said, little else has changed for the Washington franchise, but controversy seems to be following them everywhere they go.

Owner Dan Snyder's treatment of franchise staff was called into question during the early part of the offseason, yet that wasn’t enough for a team that makes more headlines off the field than on it.

Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio was fined by Ron Rivera following comments he made about the January 6 Capitol Riot, in which he described the politically-seismic event as a "dust-up."

"Why are we not looking into those things?… I can look at images on the TV, people's livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem. And then we have a dustup at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we're going to make that a major deal."

Was Ron Rivera was right to fine Del Rio, or should the punishment have been stronger?

To fully grasp just what Del Rio alluded to here is vitally important, especially before judging the punishment handed down by Rivera.

The United States of America is a very divided nation both economically and politically, as the events of January 6 highlighted.

People became so allied with Donald Trump and his cause that the former president virtually had carte blanche to do whatever he pleased and his strongest supporter base would pretzel themselves in knots trying to justify it or defend it. Had he merely called the incident a dust-up, then perhaps the whole issue could have been forgotten with a fine, yet he did something far more concerning, especially with the multi-ethnic nature of NFL locker rooms in 2022.

The former Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas Raiders) coach compared the storming of the Capitol Building to the riots that took place across America following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minnesota. In referencing these riots and disturbances and comparing their media coverage to the January 6 issue, the defensive coordinator is explicitly pointing the finger back at the African-American community.

His entire comment is going to make things incredibly uncomfortable in the Commanders locker room in 2022. This has led to a lot of people calling for the coach to be fired.

Skip Bayless said on ESPN's Undisputed:

"I just don't know how this man can keep his job after that."

How do black NFL players trust Del Rio after his comments?

In comparing the two events, Del Rio is alluding to a perceived difference in the treatment of the black community and the white community in the United States of America.

Ed Reed was a phenomenal defensive player for the Baltimore Ravens. Nobody is more respected in the NFL than Reed, who has now settled into the position of Chief of Staff with the Miami Hurricanes Football Program at collegiate level.

His words on the Del Rio matter will resonate with an awful lot of current NFL players, as well as those within the Commanders facility:

“Today, I’m sick and tired! A dust up! 100,000 is not enough, money ain’t nothing to a person who is recycled through coaching. It’s always one, first it was Saban now it’s Jack to just remind US what it is! Man if u coached by him put your pants on! Its simple right and wrong, Wrong."

Ron Rivera is a coach who has earned the respect of the league. His work with the Carolina Panthers was exceptional and he appeared to be turning things around in Washington. The Del Rio episode has the potential to derail Rivera’s whole time with the franchise.

That Rivera addressed the problem so quickly is commendable, but he will have to defend that decision to his players, especially those who will have doubts over Del Rio moving forward.

It’s difficult to place yourself in a position as difficult as the one Rivera was put in, but he could have done more. Firing Del Rio would have cut the issue off at source and would have signified to players that such inferences aren’t tolerated in his locker room.

Every problem has layers. Would firing the coordinator have had a negative impact on any players within the team who had similar leanings to Del Rio? It’s hard to police such a diverse environment and keep everyone happy.

Time may prove the $100,000 fine to be the correct choice, but at this early stage it just feels like it was the easiest option. Especially when events like January 6 represent a threat to the democratic platform in the USA.

We will have to wait and see if this is the end of the matter with the Commanders, and whether it will result in problems in the upcoming season.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit ESPN Undisputed and H/T Sportskeeda