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The head coach of American football team Buffalo Bills used the September 11 hijackers as an example of teamwork in a talk with his players.
Sean McDermott has publicly apologised for making the reference during a training camp four years ago and insisted that he “immediately” said sorry to his team after doing so.
McDermott’s admission followed a report accusing him of having “cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection”.
It also alleged he quizzed his players about what obstacles the attackers had faced during what was America’s worst terrorist atrocity, in which 3,000 people were killed when several passenger planes were hijacked and crashed into the likes of the World Trade Center in New York.
“What tactics do you think they used to come together?”, McDermott asked his players, according to US journalist and blogger Tyler Dunne, who said they were stunned by the “strange” comments, with one left “horrified”.
Upon being confronted with the allegations, McDermott admitted he “didn’t do a good enough job of communicating clearly the intent of my message”.
He said: “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.”
He added: “If anyone misinterpreted or didn’t understand my message, I apologise.
“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.”
McDermott also allegedly perplexed players during a team talk when he discussed the attempted rescue of a woman who died after driving into the river by Niagara Falls in December 2021.
Dunne wrote: “The coach explained how members from the coast guard did everything they could to save the woman. He built up the drama. Players held on tight for an inspiring apex, and… nothing. He said the woman died. End of story.”
The accusations against McDermott were made by Dunne in a lengthy series of blog posts about Buffalo Bills and their alleged McDermott “problem”.
Dunne said he had spoken to multiple anonymous players and sources, with one claiming the coach was “awkward” and lacking in social skills.
McDermott told a press conference he did not want to comment on other alleged issues raised in Dunne’s article.
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