Unlike Tuesday in New York City, Jed York wasn’t dressed in a suit and tie on Thursday in Santa Clara. The 49ers CEO met the local media at his franchise’s headquarters wearing casual red and gold team gear instead.
But even in a hoodie and a baseball cap on his home turf, York maintained a politician’s balance in answers to questions related to the NFL anthem protest controversy — an issue that started with Colin Kaepernick’s sit-down at Levi’s Stadium over a year ago, morphed into a kneel-down also featuring 49ers safety Eric Reid, and eventually expanded far enough to grab even the White House’s attention.
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The matter earned formal acknowledgment from the NFL earlier this week, when a group of 13 players were invited to meet with York and other owners in New York City.
“I think the biggest takeaway is owners are listening to players in what their needs are, what their concerns are, personally and in communities,” York said, recapping the gatherings — one featured 13 players and 11 owners, while all 32 NFL owners attended the other. “I think there’s the beginning of a dialogue, the beginning of a better partnership of how can we do things together in the community to make our players and their families’ communities a a better place.
“That’s the big takeaway to me, and knowing that the NFL is going to put its full weight behind sort of a multi-pronged approach of helping with grassroots efforts, helping with getting the right message across, helping with legislative reform.”
York didn’t offer much more in the form of specifics, and he also didn’t wade too far into the realm of disagreement among NFL executives regarding the anthem protests — of which there seems to be plenty.
York has assured the 49ers, for example, that players are allowed to kneel during the national anthem, while Dallas owner Jerry Jones has stated that those who are “disrespectful to the flag” will be benched.
The 49ers just so happen to be hosting the Cowboys this Sunday. Given the polar differences in tenor between both owners on this issue, it seems that the timing of this game is particularly opportune for discourse; but York didn’t indicate that he and Jones personally discussed the kneel-down in New York.
“We all had a discussion together,” York said of the owners’ meeting. “People shared different views, and obviously people have different political views and political opinions, but I think obviously it was a healthy conversation and that doesn’t mean that there weren’t times where people were passionate.”
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Along those lines, York classified his own political views Thursday.
“I’m not the most left-wing person in the world,” York said while referring to a shift in mentality that he’s undergone after moving from his childhood home of Youngstown, Ohio, to the Bay Area. “I realize people are trying to sort of paint me as that. That’s not my background politically and how I grew up. But, I think a lot of these things are common sense issues. When you actually sit down and talk with people and you know where people come from, it’s hard not to be sympathetic and empathetic.”
But during remarks that emphasized the importance and virtues of what’s being protested, York also acknowledged those who haven’t taken kindly to the protest’s intertwinement with professional football.
“I think a lot of our fans have expressed that they do think that it is a distraction,” York said. “I understand where fans are coming from. Our fans, they are looking at three hours on a Sunday where they want to sit down with their family and friends and enjoy a football game. I understand where they might not want to talk about political issues.”
And when asked about the league’s treatment of Kaepernick, who remains a free agent after a filing a grievance accusing team owners of collusion, York made certain to answer delicately.
“Obviously, there’s the lawsuit that’s going on, so it’s hard for me to get into any details or really share my opinion,” York said. “But I don’t believe that there’s base to the claim that (Kaepernick) is being blackballed.”
This is obviously an intricate situation, as York — in his position as one of the NFL’s 32 owners — is technically part of the entity that Kaepernick is suing. The politics of this entire issue, not limited to the quarterback’s claims of collusion, are especially complex among the owners, and York’s broad answers to questions about the details of Tuesday’s meeting alluded to that.
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But, with his stance on the kneel-down protest and public remarks on the issue — including his discussion with national reporters in New York following the meetings on Tuesday — the 37-year old York is at the public forefront of NFL owners’ politics for the first time.
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Extra points
York also addressed the 49ers’ winless start to the reason, reaffirming his belief that general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan are on the right track in their rebuilding effort.
“We don’t want a quick fix and sacrifice the long-term success for a few wins that may or may not mean anything this season,” York said. “We want to get our team back to championship-caliber level. I think that’s the trajectory that we’re on. The results might not show it. But, I think the feeling that you get around this building and the feeling that you get talking to the players and the coaches, we’re much closer than what our record would suggest.”
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Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh disclosed that defensive lineman Arik Armstead, who is now on injured reserve, played a quarter and a half at Washington with a broken hand.
Armstead’s fracture will require surgery, and it occurred in an unfortunate location, disallowing him from simply donning protective casing and resuming play.
“He’s a tough son of a b…,” Saleh said, cutting that last word short. “I will never question that man’s toughness. If he could’ve played with a club, he would’ve played with a club.”
Armstead took exception to criticism on social media, tweeting this in response:
For all you geniuses that think your doctors. If I could play with a club I would wasn't an option pic.twitter.com/RKcSQtuHHo
— Arik Armstead (@arikarmstead) October 18, 2017
DeForest Buckner, Armstead’s teammate in college at Oregon, remembers the club in that picture.
“That was freshman year,” he recalled.
A reporter then asked Buckner if he’s ever played through a similar injury, and he responded by pounding the wooden finish around the lockers like only a 6-foot-7, 300-pound behemoth could.
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It was an assertive knock on wood — or technically, five knocks on wood — that reverberated through the 49ers locker room.
“I’ve been lucky to not need to play through an injury like that,” Buckner said. “(Arik’s) been dealing with stuff like that since we’ve been in college, so I know he’ll play through anything if the team allows him to.”
Before Armstead went down, the 49ers experimented a positional flip-flop between him and rookie Solomon Thomas. Armstead moved to the “big defensive end” spot, while Thomas moved to the “Leo” edge-rushing spot.
That shift became much more entrenched after Armstead’s injury Sunday, and Thomas’ extended time at one position coincided with his most productive career outing.
“The position change from big end to Leo made a big difference for him,” Buckner said, saying that the move allows Thomas to work against tight ends and tackles more often. “The game has slowed down for him. He’s been able to use his hands more. He’s finally not thinking too much and just playing.”
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NFL locker rooms are fickle places. On Wednesday, tight end Logan Paulsen was gone, along with all his belongings. The 49ers had cut him early in the week.
But they re-signed Paulsen Thursday, letting go of veteran cornerback Leon Hall (who was just signed last week).
So in the afternoon, Paulsen was back — along with all his stuff and his locker’s nameplate.
It was just like old times. It all happened so quickly that a media member who had missed Wednesday’s availability wouldn’t have even known Paulsen wasn’t part of the team for a couple of days.
Last Sunday, Paulsen played fullback in place of the injured Kyle Juszczyk, who remains week-to-week with a back injury. Paulsen road-graded as the lead blocker for both of Carlos Hyde’s touchdowns at Washington, and he’s expected to assume the same role against Dallas.
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Saleh praised rookie Ahkello Whitherspoon, who’s joined Rashard Robinson and Dontae Johnson in the 49ers’ cornerback rotation.
“He’s earned the right to play,” Saleh said. “He’s worked his tail off in practice. … He looks enormous for some reason. On tape he does. He looks like he’s put on and he’s gotten bigger and he’s turning into a man.”
For the record,The Athleticchecked with Witherspoon later on to see exactly how much muscle he has added since arriving in the spring. Witherspoon’s answer: Seven pounds.
He’s now 6-3 and about 197 pounds, just about matching the body type of Seattle’s Richard Sherman, the tall cornerback serving as the prototypical model for Witherspoon’s physical development.
We’ll have more on Witherspoon’s progress in an upcoming piece. Here’s a portion of Jed York’s chat:
49ers CEO Jed York on NFL and owners' and players' discussions: pic.twitter.com/CFPe5mTezn
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) October 19, 2017
— Reported from Santa Clara
(Top photo:Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
