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Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott said Thursday that he regretted comments about 9/11 that he made during a team meeting in 2019.
“I’m gonna reference a team meeting that has been brought up. My intent in the meeting that day was to discuss the importance of communication and being on the same page on the team,” McDermott said. “I regretted mentioning 9/11 in my message that day and I immediately apologized to the team that day.
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“Not only was 9/11 a horrific event in our country’s history, but a day that I lost a good family friend.”
McDermott was responding to a story from Go Long that was published early Thursday that detailed the speech made by the coach during Buffalo’s training camp in 2019.
The report cited seven sources for that specific part of the story and was explicitly what McDermott addressed with reporters on Thursday. The article referenced the specifics of the event.
“He told the entire team they needed to come together. But then, sources on hand say, he used a strange model: the terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. He cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection. One by one, McDermott started asking specific players in the room questions. ‘What tactics do you think they used to come together?’ A young player tried to methodically answer. ‘What do you think their biggest obstacle was?’ A veteran answered, ‘TSA,’ which mercifully lightened the mood.”
The report went on to mention that McDermott apologized to his team later that morning in 2019, to which the coach referenced on Thursday as well.
“One player didn’t seem – that I didn’t make my point clear enough. So right then and there I said we’re getting together as a team and I’m going to address this with everyone. That was before practice,” McDermott said Thursday. “I brought everybody together and said this was the goal, this was the intent, and I apologize if anyone whatsoever felt a certain type of way coming out of that meeting. If anyone misinterpreted or didn’t understand my message, I apologize.
“I didn’t do a good enough job of communicating clearly the intent of my message. That was about the importance of communication and that everyone needs to be on the same page, ironically enough. So that was important to me then and still is now.”
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McDermott went on to say that after the speech and subsequent apology in 2019, multiple players approached him to either say he didn’t have to make the apology or thanked him for doing so. Now with the 2019 speech resurfacing, the coach said he’s made it a priority to address his team about it on Thursday evening.
“It is important to me that as I’ve discussed here, that we’re on the same page and even guys that weren’t here understand how I feel about the 9/11 event,” McDermott said. “As I mentioned to the team then, that I regretted and apologized for me not doing a good job of clearly communicating my point. I’m going to do the same with the team today when they’re done meeting, so that if there’s anyone new that they understand how important that is to me and my family because it’s an important event, a horrific event, in our history.”
A Bills spokesperson said they were not aware of any NFL or internal sanctions for McDermott.
McDermott, 49, is in his seventh year with the Bills and just signed a contract extension in June that has him signed through the 2027 season. The Bills coach has a 72-46 career record including the postseason, but are only 6-6 on the season and are 11th in AFC standings and are at risk of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The Bills will head to Kansas City this weekend in a pivotal matchup for their playoff hopes against the Chiefs.
(Photo: Mark Alberti / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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