49ERS’ SHANAHAN WEIGHS IN
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday he’s had numerous discussions with his players about racism and the importance of speaking out against police brutality this week as country-wide protests have reignited a movement for social justice on a large scale.
Shanahan, 40, who’s been around the NFL and diverse locker rooms for the vast majority of his life, made his stance very clear on the issues.
“People need to know, just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there,” he said of racism and police brutality. “And white people have to acknowledge that this a fact, this isn’t debatable.
“... I think white people are listening more than I’ve ever heard before, which is good. And that’s a starting point. Because it’s happened too long. It’s very clear, and I don’t want to debate it anymore. No one does. Open your eyes.”
The majority of Shanahan’s 30-minute Zoom call with local reporters Thursday was on the topic of racism and current events. George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis police officers May 25, brought the discussion of police brutality back to the forefront as people have been protesting throughout the Bay Area and the rest of the world.
Shanahan said the organization will continue to talk about ways the team will address the issues but exactly how remains fluid. CEO Jed York earlier in the week announced a $1 million donation through the team’s charitable arm toward supporting “local and national organizations who are creating change.”
“It’s such a deep thing,” Shanahan said. “It’s not like you’re going to see change tomorrow. It’s got to be every day and it’s got to happen through generations . ... What I hear most with the players, which I believe in a ton too, is what we can do for the youth and setting examples? If kids could watch how our players interact with each other, that’s how people should interact with each other.”
Shanahan was also asked about the team’s former quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, who opted out of his contract after Shanahan was hired in 2017 months after beginning his protest against police brutality and systemic racism.
Kaepernick’s message has resonated stronger in light of recent events than it did initially when the discussion surrounding the protest was centered on the protest itself and not the issues with law enforcement disproportionately killing people of color.
“I think the biggest thing that is so hard with the Colin thing is people misunderstanding what he was doing,” said Shanahan. “And I think that’s why the reactions have been hard the last couple of days over things that people are still confused. Regardless of whether you agree with how he did it or not, that doesn’t matter.
“What Colin was protesting was something that should be respected by all humans. That did take a lot of courage. That is something that is 1,000 percent wrong and what he was trying to fix and bring light to. And gosh it was hard to bring light to the whole country because people didn’t want to totally hear it and it got diluted with so much different stuff.”
Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have since said Kaepernick would have been released because Kaepernick didn’t fit Shanahan’s offensive system.
Kaepernick, of course, has remained out of the league but remains one of the most prominent social justice figures in the country after being the first NFL player to protest police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem.
Kaepernick has remained active as protests have taken hold. He started a legal defense fund taking donations to help represent those protesting Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis. The officer involved in Floyd’s death, Derek Chauvin, who put his knee on the back Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, had his thirddegree murder charge upgraded to a second-degree charge by prosecutors Wednesday.
Three other officers at the scene, who were initially fired after the incident but were uncharged, were charged this week with abiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Shanahan was also asked about racial issues in the NFL as the league with roughly 70 percent black players has just three black head coaches, two black general managers and no black owners.
The league implemented the “Rooney Rule” in 2003, which requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching vacancies. Yet the numbers indicate progress hasn’t been made.
Broncos coach Vic Fangio, who was the 49ers defensive coordinator from 2011 to 2014, made headlines this week for saying he hasn’t experienced racism in NFL coaching circles and since apologized for that statement.
“It’s tough because you don’t, white people don’t feel it. You’re not going to think that person’s racist,” Shanahan said. “But you know what? How the heck are there only four (minority) coaches out of 32 head coaches? How are there only two GMs? I mean, the majority of our players are black. So the fact that there’s that few, I mean that’s not debatable.”