Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio defended a tweet he sent recently that’s sparked significant controversy. Del Rio asked why the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 was being investigated, while what he described as “riots” during summer 2020 were not. Among those concerned with Del Rio’s comments is former Washington running back and current local radio host Brian Mitchell.
Mitchell, who co-hosts a daily Washington sports radio show with JP Finlay, teed off on Del Rio—who called the Jan. 6 attack a “dustup”—on Wednesday afternoon. He was also very critical of coach Ron Rivera, who says he won’t discuss Del Rio’s statements or tweets.
“You got an undisciplined D-Coordinator, but you want your football team to be disciplined?” Mitchell asked, as transcribed by Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. “I care about him [Rivera] getting his damn D-Coordinator in control before somebody beats his a– up. That’s what I care about. I care about somebody stopping this man from constantly poking his little racial bear with what he’s doing. That’s what I care about.”
Mitchell made repeated reference to a lack of discipline within the Commanders defense in 2021, and believes it starts from the top down with Del Rio. He also cited the issue, amid the team’s other ongoing scandals, including the investigation into owner Dan Snyder and the front office for both sexual harassment and financial improprieties against the NFL.
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“You got all these issues going on with the Washington Commanders right now, and he’s constantly trying to make waves because of stupidity. And you wonder why that team wasn’t disciplined last year, because your damn leader that’s leading your defense is not disciplined,” Mitchell said. “I give a damn about that.”
Mitchell, a running back and return specialist for Washington from 1990–99 who made three All-Pro teams with the franchise, also addressed Del Rio’s comparison of Jan. 6 to the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd directly. Via Jhabvala:
“But you’re talking about somebody [who] was murdered, basically, like a lot of Black men. Black unarmed men have been murdered for years and years in this damn country, and people got tired of it. Not just Black people; all people got tired of it. They saw that happen on their damn TVs and they got sick to their damn stomachs. But let’s get it straight: You know what happened during a lot of those peaceful damn protests? You had a lot of people that were on the other side that caused a lot of issues to try to make it seem like it was the Black people doing it. It was not. If you’re really following the rules, it wasn’t.
“But then you got a damn person who perpetuates a damn lie to make people storm the Capitol and try to mess up everything going on in the United States of America, as it’s supposed to be, and you think that’s the same thing?
Del Rio formerly served as coach of the Jaguars (2003–11) and Raiders (2015–17) and was hired by Rivera to be the Commanders’ DC in 2020. Mitchell says that if Rivera can’t address the Del Rio issue after today’s controversy, “he’s the wrong damn man to be leading this damn football team.”
