49ers President & CEO Jed York on Thursday announced that the team will make a $1M donation to help improve racial and economic inequality and fostering communication and collaboration between law enforcement and Bay Area communities. The statement comes amid 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick’s ongoing protest of refusing to stand for the playing of the National Anthem during the preseason (THE DAILY). CSNBAYAREA.com's Matt Maiocco noted York in his announcement "did not reference any connection with Kaepernick's protest" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 9/8). In Sacramento, Matt Barrows notes the donations come "several months after the team donated $75,000 to an LGBT-rights advocacy group in North Carolina and after York spoke out against that state’s controversial bathroom law." York and the other NFL owners "were in Charlotte, N.C., in May for league meetings" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 9/9).
A TIP OF THE KAEP TO YORK: In San Jose, Tim Kawakami writes he criticizes York "a lot, probably more than anybody does, but I’m not surprised he has led the 49ers deftly through the Colin Kaepernick national anthem situation." Kawakami: "I thought York would be thoughtful from the start, the 49ers have been measured and rational from the start, and now with news that the 49ers are donating $1M to two charities that address the issues Kaepernick has raised ... it's only more obvious." 49ers management "has been upfront and principled supporting both Kaepernick’s right to protest the anthem and also his authentic desire to have a conversation about the issues involved." This is "actually one of the Yorks’ finest, franchise-bonding moments of the last few tumultuous years." The team did not -- as "many expected and wished -- decide to end their relationship with Kaepernick" after the preseason. Additionally, predictions of "mass disruption and a split in the locker room ... have been completely wrong." Kawakami: "This has been Jed York at his best, steadiest and most principled." It also could be a sign that 49ers management’s "cold war with Kaepernick is coming to an end" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 9/9).
TIDES ARE CHANGING: Broncos LB Brandon Marshall, a college teammate of Kaepernick's, kneeled as the National Anthem played during Thursday's game against the Panthers (THE DAILY). FOXSPORTS.com's Dieter Kurtenbach writes Kaepernick's protest is "working and is not going away anytime soon, as its numbers -- both in participation and donation -- continue to grow" (FOXSPORTS.com, 9/9). ESPN’s Mike Golic said, “What Colin Kaepernick started ... has made the path for the players that are doing this now -- whether in football or in soccer, like Megan Rapinoe has done -- it has made the path a little easier” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 9/9). Meanwhile, a SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE editorial states Kaepernick's "sincerity seems beyond question," and a nonviolent protest, "it can’t be emphasized enough, is as American as football" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/8).
