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49ers' Decision To Cut McDonald In Wake Of Sexual Assault Investigation Shows Policy Shift

The 49ers yesterday "axed" DE Ray McDonald "after San Jose police said they are investigating the 30-year-old for an alleged sexual assault," according to Sernoffsky & Branch of the S.F. CHRONICLE. SJPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Heather Randol said that investigators "interviewed an unidentified woman, who is not McDonald’s fiancee, Tuesday morning at an area hospital after she said she was 'possibly sexually assaulted' the day before." The 49ers had "allowed the legal process to unfold in earlier incidents involving players." But GM Trent Baalke said that he "would not wait to cut McDonald." The NFL "was not involved in the move to cut McDonald." But the league said that it "was also looking into the case." McDonald was previously arrested at his home on Aug. 31 "on suspicion of felony domestic violence" against his pregnant fiancee, but prosecutors ultimately "opted not to file charges" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/18).

CHANGE OF HEART: In S.F., Scott Ostler writes the 49ers yesterday "grew up," or, "at the very least, management showed up." Until McDonald's release yesterday, it "seemed the 49ers had zero tolerance for zero tolerance when it came to off-field misdeeds." No bad behavior, "real or alleged, was so lumpy or so stinky that it couldn’t be swept under the 49ers’ rug." Suddenly the 49ers "are showing a distinct shift in policy, on three levels." One, they "fired a player based on a recent incident, without falling back on the stated organizational policy of 'due process.'" Two, the 49ers "didn’t saddle their head coach, Jim Harbaugh, with the duty of being team spokesman on all matters moral and legal." It "still seems odd" that 49ers CEO Jed York "grows camera shy whenever the stuff hits the fan." Three, the 49ers "showed signs that there actually is leadership somewhere at the top" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/18). In N.Y., Branch & Belson write the "swift decision to cut McDonald this time underscores the difficulty in consistently determining where to draw a boundary on bad behavior" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/18). ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez noted Baalke "set up a set of criteria" for McDonald "to adhere to to stay in good standing with the team and obviously, just being investigated right here, right here fell well short of that." Gutierrez noted Baalke seemed "kind of relieved to be talking about" McDonald’s release "because the organization took so much heat early on when they stood behind due process." CSNBayArea.com's Ray Ratto said, "It's turned into a disaster of a season and what led me to believe not so much was that the record is what impacted the decision to get rid of Ray McDonald but Jed York just being sick of the entire year. ... It made Jed York in particular look ridiculous based on what happened the last time” McDonald was in trouble ("OTL," ESPN, 12/17).

TEAM'S CALL: USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell notes from the time when the 49ers learned of the investigation against McDonald to when they cut him was "about 45 minutes." Such "swift action was not a function of the NFL's new, get-tough personal conduct policy," but rather "a 49ers decision" (USA TODAY, 12/18). USA TODAY's Christine Brennan writes the NFL, a league that "struggled to find its voice on the important issue of domestic violence during a tumultuous autumn has righted itself in December, producing a result that was not only lightning quick, but also entirely proper." But it "wasn't the much-discussed personal conduct policy that led to McDonald's departure." It was the NFL's "new culture of awareness about domestic violence, which is just about as close to zero tolerance as any league or sports entity, nationally or internationally, has ever come" (USA TODAY, 12/18). Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio said of McDonald's release, "This one doesn’t make any sense to me. First time this happened and McDonald ultimately was exonerated, not charged, no issue, they stood behind him. ... It makes no sense that the 49ers would move so abruptly get rid of Ray McDonald after standing so steadfastly behind him the last time around. I don’t know if they see it. I think everyone else sees it.” Florio added, "What the 49ers could realize this time around, unlike last time ... (is that) under the new policy the league could swoop in right now and start investigating and create even more distractions for a team that has seen more than its fair share of distractions this year as it’s fallen out of playoff contention. So I think that might have been a part of the concern" ("PFT," NBCSN, 12/17). CSNBayArea.com's Matt Maiocco said 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick told him the players "understood you’ve got to abide by the rules, and the 49ers ... hold their players to a high standard" ("Yahoo Sports Talk Live," CSN Bay Area, 12/17).

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