Bills coach says he regrets 9/11 reference made in 2019 team speech

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott says he regrets making a reference to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks during a 2019 team meeting, and said he apologized to his players for his past comments.

McDermott, who is now in his seventh season as the Bills’ quarterback, made the announcement during Thursday’s press conference, stressing that he did the speech “discusses the importance of communication and being on the same page with the team.”

“I regretted mentioning 9/11 in my message that day, and I immediately apologized to the team,” McDermott said at the press conference. “Not only was 9/11 a terrible event in our country’s history, but it was a day that a good family friend of mine died.”

McDermott’s 2019 comments were repeated in a Go Long show published Thursday, where independent NFL reporter Tyler Dunne reported that McDermott made the reference in a speech during the team’s 2019 training camp.

In his speech, McDermott told his players at the time to come together like the terrorist who carried out the 9/11 attacks. He also asked the players at the meeting about how the attacks were carried out and made comments on how the pirates stayed on the same page, according to ESPN.

McDermott’s statement was confirmed by seven statements, according to Dunne.

McDermott also said at the press conference that he made the statement during the meeting as a way to show “understanding of something terrible,” and reiterated that he lost a family friend in the time of the accident, ESPN reported.

“I brought everyone together and said this is the goal, this is the goal, and I apologize if anyone felt any kind of way coming out of that meeting,” McDermott said. . He said some of the players thanked him for his words after a follow-up meeting.

“If someone makes a mistake or doesn’t understand my message, I apologize. “I didn’t do a good enough job of conveying the intent of my message,” added the 49-year-old head coach. “That’s about the importance of communication and everyone needs to be on the same page, which is amazing. So it was very important to me at that time and the right now.”