49ers: business as usual despite 4 felony charges
A ruptured eardrum. Eight to 10 punches to the head. Dragged by the hair. Forced to flee her home and flag down a stranger in order to call the police.
Those are the disturbing details in the charges brought by the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office against 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster, involving an alleged violent incident with his live-in girlfriend.
The D.A. has had two months to investigate, following the Feb. 11 arrest. Two months to decide whether there was enough evidence to charge Foster with a crime. The D.A. decided there was. Foster appeared at an arraignment on Thursday afternoon with his attorney, Josh Bentley, who has represented other former 49ers in criminal
trouble, including Aldon Smith. Foster did not enter a plea; a hearing for that was set for April 30, and he was ordered to have no contact with the victim.
The charges include felony domestic violence, inflicting great bodily injury, forcefully attempting to prevent a victim from reporting a crime and possession of an assault weapon as well as a high-capacity magazine. He faces up to 11 years in prison.
The 49ers, meanwhile, have turtled. The team that has talked big about a new era of accountability did not release Foster on Thursday morning. It has not even been brave enough to attach Jed York’s or John Lynch’s name to a bland statement. Instead it issued the anonymous “49ers organization” news release.
“The 49ers organization is aware of today’s disturbing charges regarding Reuben Foster. We will continue to follow this serious matter. Reuben is aware that his place in our organization is under great scrutiny and will depend on what is learned through the legal process.” Yay, team. Let me translate the 49ers’ statement for you: Don’t believe us when we say we will hold our employees accountable. Don’t believe us when we say we want to be a good community partner. Only believe that talent trumps trouble. Only believe that we think we know more than the D.A. does.
And believe that we will bend over backwards to accommodate a talented player whom we personally selected.
NFL front offices are myopic places, so maybe the people in the shadow of Levi’s Stadium don’t seem to understand the climate we currently live in. Don’t see the ramifications of the #MeToo movement. Or the damage they have done already — and seem willing to continue to do — with their fan base and their credibility.
The days of sweeping these incidents under the rug are over. The days of the local sports team controlling the local police and D.A. are pretty much over, too.
York recently told NBC Sports Bay Area, “If (Foster is) not doing things off the field that allow us to be able to rely on him — or he’s doing something that we’re not comfortable with off the field and it’s proven that’s what’s going on — I think (general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan) have said, then you’re just going to have to move on.”
But York also once told me the team would no longer tolerate any poor behavior from Aldon Smith, the former 49ers and Raiders linebacker who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2015 because of legal trouble. Yet the team tolerated poor behavior from Smith for more than another year.
Whether they want him or not, the 49ers will likely be without Foster for much of next season. The NFL, suffering from ratings issues and a terrible reputation among many fans, including a significant percentage of its female base, may be slightly more in tune with the times than in past years.
Foster will likely face a suspension, regardless of the outcome of the domestic violence case. Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was suspended for six games without pay last season for his role in a such a case that included far less evidence that what Foster faces. And Elliott was suspended despite not being charged.
In addition, Foster has a marijuana charge hanging over him from his January arrest in Alabama, where marijuana is illegal. Pathetically, given the NFL’s past standards, that could hurt him more in the league’s eyes than allegedly punching his live-in girlfriend eight to 10 times in the head and rupturing her eardrum. Priorities.
The 49ers’ plan may be to bide their time and wait out the legal process and the NFL process and hope they can someday, somehow get their prized linebacker back.
If so, they’ll spend that time struggling in ethical quicksand.
Yay, team.
Maybe the people in the shadow of Levi’s Stadium don’t seem to understand the climate we currently live in.