ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Sean McDermott addressed the media Thursday after an article started trending on social media, claiming that the Buffalo Bills coach praised the execution of 9/11 terrorists.
The article, written by Tyler Dunne, started to go viral Thursday morning. The article read, in part:
At St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, N.Y., McDermott's morning address began innocently enough. 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.
McDermott addressed the Buffalo media Thursday after the article came out and said he had apologized to the team after making the comments.
"My intent in that 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 apologized to the team," he said.
"Not only was 9/11 a horrific event in our country's history, but a day that I lost a good family friend."
After those opening comments, McDermott fielded questions from reporters at the team facility. He said the goal of the team meeting that day was "the importance of communication, and being on the same page as a team."
McDermott said he would not discuss the article that mentioned the meeting.
Nearly 3,000 people died on Sept. 11, 2001, the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil.
"As I mentioned to the team then that I regretted and apologized for me not going a good enough job of communicating my point, I’m going to do the same with the team today," McDermott said. "So if there’s anyone new, they understand how important that is to me and my family because it’s an important event, a horrific event in our history."