Sports columnist torched for saying Jack Del Rio 'lucky to still have a job' after un-woke Jan. 6 comments: 'Clownishly dumb take even for this leftist rag'

Miami Herald sports columnist Greg Cote got torched on social media for his piece ripping Jack Del Rio's decidedly un-woke comments about the 2021 Capitol riots — and adding that the Washington Commanders' defensive coordinator is "lucky to still have a job."

What's the background?

In regard to the Jan. 6 commission hearings, Del Rio recently tweeted: "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???"

He followed that up at a media briefing by saying, "Let's get right down to it. What did I ask? A simple question. Why are we not looking into those things?" He added, "I see the images on 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 not gonna talk about, we're gonna make that a major deal." Del Rio then said, "Let's have a discussion. We're Americans. Let's talk it through."

After a torrent of backlash, Del Rio apologized on Twitter: "I made comments earlier in referencing the attack that took place on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Referencing that situation as a dust-up was irresponsible and negligent and I am sorry."

He added: "I stand by my comments condemning violence in communities across the country. I say that while also expressing my support as an American citizen for peaceful protest in our country. I have fully supported all peaceful protest in America."

But it wasn't enough.

Commanders' Head Coach Ron Rivera soon fined Del Rio $100,000 for his "extremely hurtful" comments and added a couple of sentences in a statement that read like it was penned by a Democratic speechwriter: "As we saw last night in the hearings, what happened on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was an act of domestic terrorism. A group of citizens attempted to overturn the results of a free and fair election, and as a result, lives were lost and the Capitol building was damaged."

Rivera also said the Commanders wouldn't "tolerate" anyone equating the Jan. 6 riots BLM rioting. Del Rio soon deleted his Twitter account.

Enter Cotes' column

In addition to saying Del Rio is "lucky to still have a job," Cotes dropped just about every left-wing bomb you can think of upon the coach. He called Del Rio's comments "dumb" and "tone-deaf-insensitive"

Cotes added, "Doubling down on the stupidity, the coach managed to also demonize the street demonstrations that erupted nationwide in protest of the police killing of George Floyd, and blamed the ... Black Lives Matter movement."

He also wrote that "three officers defending the Capitol were among the seven persons who died related to the 'dust-up'" and then took the time to define "insurrection" (“A violent uprising against an authority or government") and "dust-up" ("You and the wife arguing in the car over where to go for dinner"). Gee, thanks, Greg.

How are folks reacting?

If the comments under the Herald's tweet about Cotes' column are any indication, readers for the most part sure don't seem pleased by it. Here are but a few of the scathing comments:

• "Clownishly dumb take even for this leftist rag," one commenter replied.
• "Cool you have the right to your opinion, but he gets fined for having one," another user said. "He isn't ignorant. The 2020 riots were absolutely worse than jAnUaRy 6tH."
• "So the man should lose his job for stating facts? What size Brown shirt do you wear?" another commenter asked.
• "Free speech only applies when it's fitting with the zeitgeist of the woke NFL," another user declared.
• "Where can I buy a Jack Del Rio jersey?" another commenter defiantly quipped.
• "The guy asked a legit question. There were minority lives lost in the riots. Do they not matter? Shouldn't the [murderers] be held responsible? The people that committed crimes in the riots were bailed out by Democrats. The people that breached the capitol are still in jail. Crazy..." another user stated.
• "It wasn't ignorance..." another commenter said. "Mr. Del Rio made the unfortunate mistake of tweeting his honest opinion and the Left — looking for anything to shore up their pathetic case to the general public for insurrection — seized on it and then took the thing to a whole new level of idiocy..."
• "Del Rio's statement wasn't 'dumb,'" another user noted. "It was spot on. Of course, any big city newspaper is going to be socialist, so I wouldn't expect you to back free speech or facts or reality. He was wronged by the NFL, and I hope to hell he sues them."
• "You guys are garbage," another commenter wrote. "The irony. Your market is full of people that have fled communism (Cuba & Venezuela), and yet you guys act like communists. Clowns."