Jeff Fisher Defends Jack Del Rio on OutKick the Tailgate, Says He's 'Disappointed' In Ron Rivera

Michigan Panthers head coach and GM Jeff Fisher joined OutKick the Tailgate and talked about Washington Commanders DC Jack Del Rio's fine of $100,000 for comments on the U.S. Capitol invasion and protests after George Floyd's murder.

Del Rio's remarks, essentially asking why the events of January 6th receive so much attention while the rioting in summer 2020 that resulted in the deaths of at least 25 people, immediately received criticism from left-wing sportswriters, media outlets, and the NAACP.

COMMANDERS DC JACK DEL RIO WANTS TO KNOW WHY JAN. 6 IS TREATED DIFFERENTLY THAN WHEN OUR CITIES BURNED

The Commanders seemingly believed their best option to avoid upsetting progressive activists was to denounce Del Rio and declare their fealty to the correct set of sportswriter-approved opinions while making themselves arbiters of whether an equivalence can be made between events.

OutKick's Bobby Burack attempted to contact the organization to ask several important questions about the statement, but the team did not respond to repeated requests to comment.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS WON’T ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS FOLLOWING OUTRAGEOUS CONDEMNATION OF JACK DEL RIO

While Del Rio has received condemnation from media personalities like Ian Rapaport, he has a defender in Michigan Panthers and former NFL head coach Jeff Fisher.

Fisher ripped Rivera's choice of words, expressing personal disappointment in him and skepticism that the statement was even written by Rivera:

"But, you know, on first glance, I was a little disappointed in Ron , you know, I was teammates with Ron. And for him to come out and just as like some speechwriter wrote his statement and it's not true."

Importantly and accurately, Fisher pointed out how little the truth seems to matter in our current environment, suggesting that if you don't know the truth, it's best not to speak about issues at all:

"There were not deaths beyond, you know, like he mentioned, you know, and I'm not I don't mean to bring up to the Capitol in January, but there weren't deaths. And he put that in the statement. And so I just think, you know, going back to dad's, just tell the truth. And if you don't know it, then keep your mouth shut."

He also decried the current trend, popular amongst modern corporations and apparently the Washington Commanders, of issuing inaccurate statements to try to placate the demands of the 24-hour news cycle:

"Take a deep breath and figure out what the truth is and be truthful and honest and not, you know, trying to benefit from. You know and maximize from these created narratives that people are throwing out there. And they're unjustified."

Rivera's statement contained numerous inaccuracies and misrepresentations, whitewashing the deaths and destruction that erupted throughout the country in summer 2020.

JACK DEL RIO FINED $100,000 FOR COMMENTS ON JAN 6 AND FLOYD RIOTS; COMMANDERS ISSUE RIDICULOUS STATEMENT

Fisher is completely right to call out Rivera and the Commanders for ignoring that inarguable reality because it's inconvenient for their purposes.

The organization clearly has no interest in the truth, only in protecting themselves from further admonishment. They live in fear of the NAACP and the brigade of sports personalities ready and willing to denounce them for not adhering to the approved talking points.

While it's great to see Jeff Fisher openly discussing the Commanders' disgraceful conduct, it's worth asking, why aren't more people around the game willing to do the same thing?

Here's everything Fisher and the OutKick 360 crew had to say:

OutKick The Tailgate's full stream from Protective Stadium in Birmingham can be seen here.