Sean McDermott apologizes for 9/11 reference in Buffalo Bills’ team meeting
Sean McDermott met with the media Thursday afternoon to address questions surrounding a touchy subject that was shared in an earlier story.
Early Thursday morning, Tyler Dunne with “Go Long” published a 3-part series into McDermott’s coaching tenure with the Buffalo Bills. In that story, Dunne referenced a 2019 training camp meeting where McDermott referenced the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a way to encourage the team to come together.
According to Dunne’s story, McDermott cited the hijackers as a group who came together and were all able to be on the same page. Here is that specific snippet from Dunne’s story:
Here’s the instance that @TyDunne reported on that Bills’ HC Sean McDermott addressed this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/PeFDbPLRc7
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 7, 2023
When meeting with the media, McDermott indicated the goal was to discuss the importance of communication within the team. He also said he regretted the reference and immediately apologized to the team for it.
“My intent in the meeting that day was to discuss the importance of communication and being on the same page with the team,” said McDermott. “I regretted mentioning 9/11 in my message that day, and I immediately apologized 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.”
Sean McDermott just addressed the 9/11 meeting referenced by @TyDunne‘s article published today. He said he plans on addressing this with the team later today once they get out of meetings. Here’s the first few minutes of his comments from moments ago @WKBW pic.twitter.com/lKBdGVd8GV
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) December 7, 2023