Jack Del Rio, in news for Jan. 6 comments, scuffled with Chiefs’ Otis Taylor 35 years ago
Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio’s comments Wednesday about the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol sparked a memory of his role in an ugly incident 35 years ago at Arrowhead Stadium.
Talking with reporters, Del Rio called the attack on the U.S. Capitol a “dust-up” compared to the protests around the nation that followed George Floyd’s death in 2020.
Del Rio later apologized, but for some his “dust-up” comment was a reminder of his role in a fight with former Chiefs wide receiver Otis Taylor during the 1987 NFL football player strike.
According to The Star’s previous coverage, Del Rio and other players were picketing at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 23 when Taylor, who was a scout for the Chiefs at the time, walked out of the facility with a tryout player. Del Rio didn’t recognize Taylor and called him and the other man a “dirty scab” and a “lowlife.”
Del Rio grabbed Taylor around the neck and pulled him to the ground. The two then exchanged blows.
As others were trying to break up the fight, as former Star sportswriter Randy Covitz recalled on Twitter, they were saying Taylor’s first name, and then Del Rio stopped punching.
“Otis? Otis Taylor?” Del Rio said, “I loved watching you as a player.”
Taylor, who at the time said his lip was bleeding, filed a criminal complaint and Del Rio filed an assault complaint, but prosecutors did not file charges because of “insufficient evidence.”
Taylor also filed a $1 million lawsuit against Del Rio, player representative Nick Lowery and the NFL Players Association. The case was settled out of court two years later.
This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 11:29 AM.
