The Washington Post - USA (2022-06-09)

D4 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.THURSDAY, JUNE 9 , 2022

understand ‘the whole story’
about why the summer of riots,
looting, burning and the
destruction of personal property
is never discussed but this is ???
#CommonSense”
Addressing reporters
Wednesday after a Commanders
offseason workout, Del Rio
walked nothing back. Rather, he
grabbed a shovel and started
digging.
“What did I ask? A simple
question,” Del Rio said in
comments he later issued a
narrow apology for. “Why are we
not looking into those things if
we’re going to talk about it? 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 dust-up
at the Capitol, nothing burned
down, and we’re going to make
that a major deal. I just think it’s
kind of two standards, and if we
apply the same standard and
we’re going to be reasonable
with each other, let’s have a
discussion. That’s all it was. Let’s
have a discussion.”
Okay. Let’s.
First, his apology. It read, in
part, “Referencing that situation
as a dust-up was irresponsible
and negligent and I am sorry.” A
nice start. But what he never
acknowledged was the offensive
idea that the violence in these
two cases are similar in origin.
The summer of 2020 will go
down as one of the most
significant racial reckoning
points of the past 100 years. The
violence to which Del Rio refers
stemmed from one of the most
horrifying facts of American life:
that the color of your skin
affects your likelihood of being
abused or killed by the very law
enforcement officers sworn to
protect us. It reached a boiling
point because of the murder of
George Floyd in Minneapolis,
but that was preceded by
Breonna Taylor in Louisville;
which was preceded by Stephon
Clark in Sacramento; which was
preceded by Philando Castile in
St. Paul, Minn.; which was
preceded by Alton Sterling in
Baton Rouge and Walter Scott in
North Charleston, S.C., and

SVRLUGA FROM D1

BARRY SVRLUGA

After Del Rio’s

commentary,

Commanders

must respond

BY SAM FORTIER

In a p ost-practice meeting with reporters, Washington Com- manders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio minimized the Jan. 6 storming of the U. S. Capitol building by calling it a “dust-up” in comparison to the racial justice protests that followed George Floyd’s death in 2020. “I can look at images on the TV [of the Floyd protests] — people’s livelihoods are being destroyed. Businesses are being burned down. No problem,” he 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. I just think it’s kind of two standards, and if we apply the same standard and we’re going to be reasonable with each other, let’s have a discussion.” Del Rio’s comments were in response to questions related to one of his social media posts this week. The 59-year-old coach has been outspoken on Twitter in each of the three offseasons he has been with the Commanders, often on conservative political issues. The latest tweet came Monday night in response to a report by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, about the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, which after 11 months and more than 1,000 interviews will begin holding hearings Thursday. Del Rio wrote, “would love to understand ‘the whole story’ about why the summer of riots, looting, burning and the destruction of personal property is never discussed but this is ??? #CommonSense.” Later Wednesday, Del Rio issued an apology, saying that “referencing that situation as a dust- up was irresponsible and negligent and I am sorry.” “I stand by my comments con- demning violence in communi- ties across the country,” he said in a statement. “I say that while also expressing my support as an American citizen for peaceful protest in our country.” Del Rio’s comments earlier in the day seem to be at odds with recent racial justice messaging from the NFL and run counter to the way the league and his own team responded to Floyd’s death. In June 2020, Washington Coach Ron Rivera said he would support players who kneel during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice and police brutal- ity, and in August the head coach canceled a practice to hold a team-wide discussion about racial justice following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.

Commanders President Jason Wright has spearheaded the team’s recent efforts to promote racial justice and staff diversity. This has become a theme in the team’s search for a new stadium site, when Maryland officials pointed out the social change the team could make by keeping its venue in majority-Black Prince George’s County. Neither Wright nor a team spokesman responded to a request for c omment Wednes- day. Virginia lawmakers are consid- ering legislation meant to entice the Commanders to relocate to Virginia, and some indicated Del Rio’s c omments could resonate in Richmond and endanger the stadium efforts. “Just sealed the deal to cast my vote as a NO,” state Sen. Jeremy S. McPike (D-Prince William) tweeted Wednesday. “I think what’s burning down today is the stadium.” McPike told 106.7 the Fan that he was canceling a Thursday meeting with Wright to discuss the stadium legislation, saying: “There’s too much stuff going on with the organization. They’ve got to get it together.” McPike previously expressed reserva- tions about the proposed stadium legislation and shared transpor- tation concerns around a poten- tial Woodbridge location. Virginia state Sen. Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) was similarly critical of the defensive coordinator, saying Del Rio’s comments “[make] clear to me that we won’t be seeing any more votes on stadium bills this year.” Del Rio’s r emarks also drew the ire of some fans and commenta- tors. Former Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall tweeted a clown emoji at the coach, and former Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin called Del Rio “an ignorant, ignorant man.” “Protesting against the murder of someone is not the same as attempting a coup because you didn’t get your way in an election,” Baldwin tweeted. “Not saying vandalism is ok but lets not try to pretend these are the same.” Former Washington player Bri- an Mitchell called on Rivera to address the situation, comparing Del Rio’s comments with a furi- ous Rivera outburst that followed a collision between two players at Wednesday’s practice. “I don’t g ive a damn about Ron Rivera getting mad at somebody having a collision until he gets off his a-- and addresses this damn idiot that he hired as a defensive coordinator,” Mitchell said on his 106.7 the Fan radio show Wednes- day. “That’s what I give a damn about. And if he can’t do it, then

he’s the wrong damn man to be leading this damn football team.” Rivera declined to discuss Del Rio’s tweets with reporters Wednesday and would not say whether he had discussed them with his defensive coordinator. Rivera said he does “not necessar- ily” worry Del Rio’s comments will affect the locker room, which is predominantly Black and in- cludes many players who sup- ported the Floyd protests with words and social media posts two years ago. If it does become an issue, Rivera said, he will deal with it. Before issuing his apology, Del Rio said he wasn’t worried that his tweets would offend players — in part because he didn’t think “race had anything to do with” the Jan. 6 insurrection — or that his Twitter use could affect the team. “Anything that I ever say or write, I’d be comfortable saying or writing in front of everybody that I work with, players and coaches,” Del Rio said. “I express myself as an American; we have that ability. I love this country, and I believe what I believe, and I’ve said what I want to say. Every now and then, there’s some people that get offended by it.” Del Rio, a former NFL player and head coach, said if any of his players were offended by his comments, he would welcome a discussion. “I think we all as Americans have a right to express ourselves, especially if you’re being respect- ful,” he said. “I’m being respect- ful. I just asked a simple question. Really. Let’s get right down to it. What did I ask? A simple question. Why are we not looking into those things [around the 2020 protests]?” In an interview with NBC Sports Washington, one of the defense’s most vocal leaders, tackle Jonathan Allen, said that, while he was aware of Del Rio’s tweets, they haven’t prompted much discussion in the locker room. “At the end of the day, you can have a difference of opinion and still respect one another,” Allen said. “I feel like that’s what our country is about. That’s what our team’s about. So, I mean, me personally, I don’t care about his opinion as long as he shows up every day and works hard. That’s what I want from my defensive coordinator.” Cornerback Kendall Fuller said he hadn’t s een Del Rio’s t weet and after it was read to him said he had no reaction. “If I have a reaction or feeling toward something, I’ll express that with him,” he said.

Coordinator: Insurrection a ‘dust-up’

Tamir Rice in Cleveland. The list is longer than that, and the anger that spilled out that summer had been brewing for decades. It was based in real lives unjustly lost. I will never know what it feels like to live with that fear and that rage. Neither will Jack Del Rio. But we can try to understand and listen — to have a discussion, as Del Rio suggested. That’s what Del Rio’s team did after Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot by police in Wisconsin. That August day in 2020, the then-Washington Football Team canceled practice to hold a team-wide discussion on racism and social justice. “[Team president] Jason Wright and I worked this afternoon to develop a response that has the right balance between the business of football and being truly thoughtful about the social injustice we witnessed with this latest incident in Wisconsin,” Coach Ron Rivera said in a statement back then. This remains a front-and- center issue in American society. It remains a front-and-center issue for the NFL and many of its teams. It is a front-and-center issue for Wright, the team’s first Black president. It’s not an accident that, earlier this week, the Commanders themed one of their home games as “Inspire Change,” when FedEx Field will host Black-owned businesses for a holiday market. Among other things, the protests that followed Floyd’s death forced the mostly White groups that run NFL teams to listen to their mostly Black players. That’s the workplace in which Del Rio is supposed to be a leader. Instead, he wants to compare the violence that erupted after generations of inequality and oppression — problems both ingrained and infuriating — with the violence that followed the false notion that the 2020 election was

stolen from President Donald Tr ump. Reducing the Jan. 6 horror — lawmakers and their staffs bracing against doors and scrambling through hallways as an armed mob broke through barriers and blockades — to “a dust-up” in which “nothing burned down” is one level of misjudgment on which Del Rio doubled down Wednesday. But tying it in with the rioting that followed the murder of a Black man at the hands of police — a death that followed so many others like it — is so offensive that it borders on disqualifying. Condemn violence in all of its forms. But differentiate between fact and fiction, between systemic failures and vast conspiracies. Rivera, Del Rio’s boss, ducked an opportunity to publicly scold his defensive coordinator Wednesday. “If that ever becomes an issue, a situation, then we’ll have that discussion,” Rivera told reporters before Del Rio addressed them. “But right now, it’s something that I will deal with when it comes up.” It has come up. What must Wright think? We don’t yet know. A Commanders spokesperson declined to comment when asked for reaction from the team president. “I love that I’m an American, and that means I’m free to express myself,” Del Rio said. Indeed. The government cannot — and should not — have the right to come down on Del Rio for what he tweeted Monday or what he said Wednesday. His employer, however, is another matter. Jack Del Rio represents the Washington Commanders. It’s on franchise leadership — on Wright and on Rivera — to evaluate whether his is the message they want sent to their locker room and to their fan base.

JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio apologized after referring to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol as a “dust-up.”

spent much of this series playing
past each other rather than meet-
ing head-on. After exchanging
double-digit wins in the first two
games, Boston quickly built an
18 -point lead in the second quar-
ter. Brown was the driving force
early. He buried his first jumper,
slipped to the rim multiple times
and scored 17 of his team-high
27 points in a magnificent first
quarter.
“We loved the start,” Celtics
Coach Ime Udoka said. “From a
strictly physical standpoint, we
matched their intensity better
than last game. [Our focus] was
really to keep our composure and
not get sped up. Our spacing was
much better tonight. Guys were
being patient. The second-

NBA FINALS FROM D1 chance points and offensive re-
bounding was huge for us.”
The Garden’s bad blood
toward Green, who had seemed
to psych out the Celtics in
Game 2, took a back seat early to
Boston’s crisp play. The Celtics
rekindled their offensive rhythm,
using their aggressive drive-and-
kick style to keep the Warriors’
defense guessing. To make mat-
ters worse for Golden State, Ste-
phen Curry had his typical rota-
tion disrupted by early foul trou-
ble.
The Celtics coasted into half-
time with a 12-point lead, but
they faced a big test shortly after
intermission. Golden State had
outscored Boston in the third
quarter by 14 points in Game 1
and by 21 points in Game 2 , and it
came out firing with nothing to

lose in Game 3. In a stretch of sheer improba- bility that elicited gasps and groans from the Garden crowd, the Warriors ran off a 12-0 run late in the third quarter, includ- ing a stretch in which they scored seven points in just 13 seconds. With just over five minutes remaining in the period, Curry drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key. As Curry descend- ed, Horford slid into his landing zone while attempting to contest the shot, an action that drew a flagrant foul upon the official’s review. Curry made the free throw, the Warriors retained pos- session, and reserve forward Otto Porter Jr. hit another t hree-pointer. But Boston steadied itself at the start of the fourth quarter,

turning over the keys to the offense to Tatum, who scored eight of his 26 points in the final period, and Marcus Smart, who added 24 points and hit a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter. The Warriors shot just 5 for 15 in the fourth quarter and finished the night with 17 turn- overs, wilting down the stretch against an energized Celtics defense. “Just ride it out,” Horford said. “Jayson and Smart did a great job of staying composed down the stretch.” Aside from another strong night from Curry, who scored a game-high 31 points, little went right for the Warriors, who were outrebounded 47 -32 and out- played inside by the Celtics. Green finished with two points

and four rebounds, and he fouled out in 35 minutes. Golden State did welcome a breakthrough performance from Klay Thompson, who struggled in the first two games of the series. Despite missing his first three shots, Thompson finished with 25 points and made five three-pointers, one day after tell- ing reporters he had searched his own YouTube highlights in an effort to snap his slump. Togeth- er, Curry and Thompson c onvert- ed 11 of their 24 three-point attempts to make Boston sweat. “Another bounce back for us,” said Udoka, whose team im- proved to 7-0 after a loss during this postseason. “My message to the guys was that we’ve done this after losses. Let’s respond now after a win.”

Through three games, Boston has yet to find itself in a posses- sion game late against Golden State, and it almost certainly will need to outexecute the more experienced Warriors in the clutch to secure the franchise’s first title since 2009. But the Celtics had plenty of poise in Game 3, smothering the Warriors’ supporting cast and outlasting their hot-shooting stars. Fittingly, it was Brown (team-high 27 points) who deliv- ered the knockout blow, swatting a Thompson shot out of bounds in the game’s closing minutes. As the final buzzer sounded, Celtics executive Mike Zarren walked off the parquet court with two fingers above his head, shouting to the crowd: “Two more!”

Celtics show their poise and survive big Warriors rally to take 2-1 Finals lead

BY SAM FORTIER

Washington Commanders
Coach Ron Rivera charged
across the field, screaming:
“Who was the [expletive] safety?
Who was the [expletive] safety?”
A moment earlier, halfway
through a team workout
Wednesday, safety Jeremy
Reaves collided with wide re-
ceiver Dyami Brown, who crum-
pled to the ground. Reaves had
tried to jump Brown’s route over
the middle and accidentally hit
Brown in the head area with his
head or shoulder.
As trainers attended to
Brown, who remained down for
a few minutes, Rivera chewed
out Reaves for making a danger-
ous play in June. He huddled up
the whole team and launched
into an expletive-laden speech
about discipline and under-
standing the bigger picture.
“People get hurt, you lose [ex-

pletive] games! You got to understand that!” he said. “This is a team!” he added. “You do it our [expletive] way!” The final day of organized team activities open to the media, which included the Reaves- Brown collision and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio down- playing the Jan. 6 insurrection as a “dust-up,” was tense. Rivera said Brown will be all right — “a little sore shoulder and that’s about it” — but he was upset about the lack of discipline. He made a point to note that his frustrations Wednesday were dif- ferent from concerns he had about the team’s maturity during last year’s preseason. “I told Jeremy I’m disappoint- ed in him because I know who he is,” Rivera said. “And he’s the right kind of guy. He’s the kind of guy you want on your football team, the kind of guy you want on the football field — because,

for the most part, he does smart things.” As the trainers helped Brown back to the team facility, Reaves ran over, apologized and patted him on the shoulder. He told Rivera he was sorry, too; visibly frustrated, he hit himself in the helmet and cursed. “I actually didn’t see Dyami,” Reaves said later. “I was just breaking on the ball, and at the last second I felt him. But at that point, I already had my hands down to go t ry t o pick [the pass]. I knew immediately. As soon as he hit me, I knew what it was going to be.” Reaves said it’s difficult not to be aggressive on every play. He has fought to stay in the NFL since Philadelphia signed him as an undrafted free agent out of South Alabama in 20 18. But he didn’t use his circumstances as an excuse, saying he knows better.

“You never want to be that guy [who hits a teammate],” he added. “It’s tough being that guy in that situation, but at the same time, we preach ownership here. We preach accountability. So, as a man, you’ve got to take respon- sibility for when something goes wrong.”

Wentz on McLaurin Quarterback Carson Wentz spoke to the media for the first time since his introductory news conference March 17. He was affable and effusive in praise for his teammates, saying rookie wideout Jahan Dotson catches the ball “as natural as anybody I’ve been around.” Wentz also said he has spoken “quite a bit” with star wideout Terry McLaurin, who’s holding out because of his contract nego- tiations. “The dynamic he brings will just elevate us,” Wentz said.

“There’s no doubt about it. He’s an extremely talented guy and a great, great person, I’ve already learned, and a hard-working guy. So I know he’ll be ready to go.”

Resting players Washington had nine players on the side field. The list included some old names — such as tight end Logan Thomas (knee), who has been rehabbing since the end of last season — as well as some new ones. The most notable newcomers were running back Antonio Gib- son, who had “a little twinge in the hamstring,” Rivera said, and wide receiver Curtis Samuel, who took a rest day “out of an abundance of caution,” the coach said. Rivera said Samuel felt “a little bit tight” after a workout Monday, and head athletic train- er Al Bellamy decided to hold him out.

The others on the side field were center Chase Roullier, center Tyler Larsen, linebacker Fer- rod Gardner, tight end Curtis Hodges, offensive lineman Saah- diq Charles and defensive end Jacub Panasiuk. Tight end Sammis Reyes was not at the workout, Rivera said, because he’s having an old screw from a previous knee surgery taken care of. Rivera said he would not need surgery this time.

Contract issues McLaurin and defensive tackle Daron Payne did not attend the workout because of frustra- tion about contract negotia- tions. Rivera was asked whether they will return for the three-day mandatory minicamp that be- gins Tuesday. “I expect all our players to be here,” he said, “because it is m andatory.”

COMMANDERS NOTES

Rivera rips into his team after Reaves’s high hit on Brown

The Washington Post - USA (2022-06-09)

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