NFL head coach apologises for using 9/11 hijackers in motivational speech
8 December 2023, 14:24 | Updated: 8 December 2023, 14:49
The head coach of the NFL team the Buffalo Bills has apologised after saying the September 11 hijackers were an example of a team ‘coming together’ well in a motivational speech.
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Sean McDermott said he apologised ‘immediately’ to his team after making the reference during a training session in 2019.
He ‘cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection,’ said US blogger Tyler Duane.
He then reportedly asked the players “what tactics do you think they used to come together.”
Members of the team were left ‘horrified’ by the comments.
He said at a press conference yesterday he “didn’t do a good enough job of communicating clearly the intent of my message.
“My intent in the meeting that day was to discuss 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 apologised to the team.
“Not only was 9/11 a horrific event in our country’s history, but a day that I lost a good family friend.”
Nearly 3,000 people died in the September 11 attacks when four passengers planes were hijacked and then crashed into targets including the World Trade Center in New York.
