Bill Maher wasn’t impressed with Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera fining Jack Del Rio.
The defensive coordinator of the Commanders was fined after he referred to the January 6 riot at the Capitol as a “dust up,” and asked why people weren’t as outraged about the riots that swept across America in 2020. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Commanders Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio:
“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.” pic.twitter.com/99mF3uxUTD
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 8, 2022
For reasons that don’t seem clear to any rational person, Del Rio was hit with a $100,000 fine from head coach Ron Rivera for his comments because his opinion was apparently simply not acceptable.
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) June 10, 2022
During the Friday episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the popular comedian and host sounded off on the Commanders for pretending like the team gives a damn about free speech while fining people for their opinions.
Maher said the following about Del Rio’s situation:
Fining someone for an opinion, I’m not down with that…His boss said about [Del Rio], ‘He does have the right to voice his opinion as a citizen of the United States and it most certainly is his constitutional right to do so.’ Apparently not! You know what? This is the don’t pee on my shoe and tell me it’s raining. What the f**k are you talking about? He doesn’t have a right to an opinion and it’s obviously not his right to do so.
You can watch his full comments in the clips below.
HBO’s @BillMaher denounces $100,000 fine on Jack Del Rio. “He has a right to be wrong….Fining people for an opinion. I’m not down with that.” Re coach Ron Rivera saying he has constitutional right to voice his opinion, “Don’t pee on my shoe and tell me it’s raining.” #RealTime pic.twitter.com/o4yAc1grdJ
— Brent Baker 🇺🇦 (@BrentHBaker) June 18, 2022
Bill Maher is 100% correct, and I wish more people would be rational about this situation. Was Del Rio calling the January 6 riot a “dust up” a wise way to word it?
No. Should he have been fined? Absolutely not. Athletes share their political opinions nonstop and are applauded for doing so. Del Rio asked why the riot at the capitol is treated differently than the 2020 riots that torched cities, and he was treated like an evil man.
Coach Ron Rivera has fined DC Jack Del Rio $100,000 for his troublesome and wrong comments. Significant. https://t.co/CrxgH2XL8T
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 10, 2022
As I’ve always said, you have to be consistent. If riots across America upset you, as they should have, you have to keep that same energy. If you were silent as American cities burned to the ground, I don’t really give a damn what your thoughts are on anything.
Furthermore, Del Rio’s comments weren’t incendiary at all. He talked about the importance of respect and maintaining an open dialogue. Isn’t that what America’s all about?
Jack Del Rio doesn’t skip a beat https://t.co/YHawSO7oYo
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 9, 2022
Whether you like someone’s opinion or not, punishing a man for asking for consistency is a very scary precedent to set.