Shanahan decries blindness to racism: ‘Open your eyes’

A 40yearold white male millionaire who lives in tony Los Gatos bluntly spoke for nearly 30 minutes on racism in America on Thursday with passion, anger and authenticity.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t choose his words carefully in an unscripted video conference with reporters that was dominated by the nation’s response to the last week’s killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer who dispassionately knelt for nearly nine minutes on Floyd’s neck.

“People are hurting,” Shanahan said. “And people — black people, mainly — are scared. And the disturbing thing is they’ve been scared for a long time. This is it. This is their cry for help that they’ve been giving for a long time. And people don’t totally listen. And I think everyone’s at fault for that.”

Shanahan spoke a day after Denver head coach Vic Fangio

— a member of the 49ers’ coaching staff from 2011 through ’14 — issued an apology for saying he didn’t “see racism at all in the NFL.” And Shanahan spoke hours after New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees apologized for saying Wednesday he would “never agree” with players who knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality and systemic racism because they were “disrespecting” the American flag.

On the issue of racism in the NFL, Shanahan acknowledged the obvious.

“How the heck are there only four black (head) coaches out of 32? How are there only two GMs?” Shanahan said. “The majority of our players are black. So how are there that few? That’s not debatable.”

On the topic of players peacefully protesting during the anthem, Shanahan, who strongly supported players who knelt in 2017 after white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Va., said he’s even more passionate about encouraging players to express themselves.

“I’m all for protests,” Shanahan said. “I’m all for change. I hope the protests cause change. Whatever we have to do to get the change, I’m for it.”

The protests in the NFL, of course, began with then49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016. Shanahan expressed frustration that Kaepernick’s message, which he said should be “respected by all humans,” is still not being heard.

“It’s (nearly four) years later, and they’re still some people not understanding what his message was,” Shanahan said. “And, regardless, there’s too many people not understanding the message that everyone’s been giving for a long time. And Colin did it the strongest out of anyone. And people should respect him a ton for that and admire that.” There are signs of change. Many of the protests across the country and around the world in the wake of Floyd’s killing have been multiracial. In the NFL, a league in which few white players spoke out passionately to back Kaepernick, some prominent white quarterbacks have been among those to express support on social media in recent days.

“I think white people are listening now more than ever before, which is good,” Shanahan said. “And that’s the starting point. Because it’s gone on for too long. And it’s very clear. And I don’t want to debate it anymore. Open your eyes.”

Shanahan has a strong voice on the subject partly because of his upbringing. His dad, Mike, spent 30 seasons coaching in the NFL and Kyle Shanahan was raised around predominantly black NFL locker rooms and had many black friends.

Shanahan’s staff includes defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who is Muslim, specialteams coordinator Richard Hightower, who is one of the team’s seven black assistants, and offensive assistant Katie Sowers, who is lesbian.

Shanahan, addressing police violence, said he recognized how many of his black friends, often rugged football players, had a visceral reaction to the presence of an officer when he was growing up. He said it was an example of his “white privilege” that he wasn’t fearful in such situations.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’m with one of my black friends and we’re around a cop and I can feel something different in those guys,” Shanahan said. “They’re scared. And it’s something that’s always bothered me. … I don’t know how they feel, but I can feel they feel different than me.”

Shanahan has spoken with various 49ers position groups this week about racism and ideas that will promote change, such as educating the public on voting. Shanahan and general manager John Lynch spoke Wednesday with 12 veteran players.

He said the players plan to do “a lot,” but they’ve yet to pin down specifics. He expressed appreciation for the support from the top of the organization after CEO Jed York pledged Saturday to donate $1 million to socialjustice organizations.

“I know our players are so passionate — black guys and white guys — about about trying to fix this,” Shanahan said. “But I think we all know it’s not an easy answer. It’s the whole country admitting what is wrong, which isn’t debatable. People need to come out from being sheltered or ignorant, whatever it is.

“We’re not just going to see change tomorrow. It has to be every day and it has to happen through generations. We’ve danced around it for too many generations. And I think that’s what’s very apparent now when you talk to our players.”

Shanahan mentioned what he viewed as a major problem — white people being sheltered from black people — throughout his conversation with reporters.

He expressed hope that Floyd’s death could lead to societal change.

“It takes a really bad person to do something like this,” Shanahan said. “The problem is that, percentagewise, there are a little too many bad people. And a community has to fix that. It’s not one thing. It’s the collective consciousness. … The only way to do that is by hanging together.”