Jack Del Rio, Commanders, PGA Tour defectors face consequences — maybe forever

The most resounding result of Jack Del Rio’s most recent idiocies is that those idiocies killed a stadium deal for his employer, the Washington Commanders. The bill that would have authorized what is believed to be up to $300 million in bonds for a Northern Virginia stadium and practice facility died Wednesday thanks to Del Rio’s mouth.

That’s when Del Rio, the Commanders’ offensive defensive coordinator, was asked why he’d tweeted controversially earlier in the week about the 2020 protests and the Jan. 6 insurrection. Del Rio promptly cast the protests as wildly violent and destructive, then, incredibly, called the violent attempt at a coup on Jan. 6 a “dust-up.”

Within hours, State Senators Jeremy McPike and Scott Surovell pledged to vote “No” on the bill, and that was that.

“Just sealed the deal to cast my vote as a NO. I think what’s burning down today is the stadium bill,” McPike tweeted.

The bill had already largely stalled because of a congressional investigation of Commanders owner Daniel Snyder for alleged sexual misconduct. Del Rio, a ferocious hitter in his playing days, dealt the final blow. Del Rio offered a qualified apology, but both the team and the legislators acknowledged Thursday that the jig was up. Del Rio was fined $100,000 by the team on Friday.

The next day, the oppressive regime in Saudi Arabia showed the world the new pets it had bought.

Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson headlined the inaugural LIV Golf event in London. Mickelson, Johnson, and 15 other current PGA Tour players were summarily suspended from the tour for playing the event in violation of PGA Tour rules.

The suspensions resonated less loudly than have the repercussions; some of the bigger names might actually lose money in the long run, and lose their legacies and their friends as well.

Mickelson received a reported $200 million to play LIV. The purses for the eight events are generally about twice that of a typical PGA Tour event, the fields largely are 48-man, toothless collections of fading stars and irrelevant nobodies, and there is no cut, so everybody gets paid every weekend. Notably, two events will occur at properties owned by former President Donald Trump — sites that recently lost tournaments because of what Trump has said and done.

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But Mickelson reportedly earned $30 million in endorsements in 2021, and four of Mickelson’s top sponsors — Workday, Callaway, KPMG, and Heineken — dropped him in February after he admitted that, fully cognizant of the Saudis’ strategy to use him to wash blood from their hands, he was using LIV Golf as leverage to squeeze more money from the PGA Tour. Mickelson played this weekend unadorned by any sponsor logos.

This is remarkable because Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus made far more money off their names — endorsements, course designs, and other business ventures — for decades after they stopped winning tournaments. Tiger Woods made more than $73 million last year alone, and, because of injury, he didn’t play once.

If LIV — sort of a WWE of golf, all gimmicks and fluffery — dies quickly, imagine the money a promising young player like quirky, charismatic 28-year-old Bryson DeChambeau might be leaving on the table.

Golf’s three leading personalities — Woods, Nicklaus, and Rory McIlroy — all expressed dismay concerning players who abandoned the PGA Tour that made the traitors attractive to LIV in the first place. Justin Thomas this week told a story about how awkward things were last week when he ran into Johnson near their homes in Florida.

How long before dismay and awkwardness turn into resentment? Will DJ and Phil ever be welcomed back into the fraternity of golf greats?

And what of the international cachet? The President’s Cup already has banned LIV golfers. Will the Ryder Cup follow suit next year? Will Mickelson, a Ryder Cup giant, ever be a Ryder Cup captain? Will Irishman Graeme McDowell, a favorite to captain the European team in 2023, be welcome after admitting to helping the Saudis remake their image without changing their behavior? McDowell said this Tuesday:

“If Saudi Arabia wanted to use the game of golf as a way for them to get to where they want to be, and they have the resources to accelerate that experience, I think we’re proud to help them on that journey.”

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This might be a tempest in a teapot. After all, as it stands, none of the four majors has closed the door on allowing qualifying LIV players to compete; in fact, the USGA explicitly stated that qualifying LIV players would be welcome next week at the U.S. Open in Brookline, Mass. Like the majors, the DP World Tour (European Tour) has not acted on LIV players. That tour stands to become the No. 3 tour on the planet if LIV takes off.

Of course, if enough golfers get greedy enough, the PGA Tour won’t be the top dog for long, either. And if that happens, the sponsors will come running back.

As for Del Rio’s comments: A total of 19 people died over a two-week period during the 2020 protests and more than $1 billion in property was damaged. A total of five Capitol police officers died as a result of Jan. 6 — one during the riot, and four more by suicide — as well as four members of the crowd. More than 800 arrests were made, there have been three guilty pleas for seditious conspiracy, and, on Thursday, the House select committee began public hearings concerning Jan. 6.

There’s no question that Ron Rivera, who’s spineless, and Snyder, who’s worthless, won’t fire Del Rio. He was a head coach for 12 years and this is his third year in Washington. Certainly, his goal is to be a head coach one day again. He is a compulsive far-right tweeter. Might this latest misstep doom his greater desires?

We can only hope.