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Charges Against Ahmad Brooks Mark The Latest Black Eye To 49ers' Image

49ers LB Ahmad Brooks will not play in Saturday's preseason game against Broncos after being charged with misdemeanor sexual battery, marking the "latest in a series of missteps for an organization trying desperately to regain footing," according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. 49ers GM Trent Baalke indicated that the charge "did not catch them by surprise." Gutierrez noted the "possibility of Brooks facing charges has existed since at least May when civil charges were filed," alleging he groped a woman who was unconscious at the house of former 49ers DT Ray McDonald (ESPN.com, 8/27). In San Jose, Tim Kawakami noted the Brooks charge "comes after the Aldon Smith episodes and eventual release," after all the previous McDonald incidents and eventual release, after FB Bruce Miller’s arrest and continued legal situation, after CB Chris Culliver’s legal problems and eventual departure as a free agent, after WR Jerome Simpson’s signing "despite legal problems and his recent suspension by the NFL." Kawakami: "We could go on and on. This is where the 49ers have placed themselves, this is who they are now" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 8/27). NFL Network’s Scott Hanson said the Brooks case is the "latest in an almost unprecedented offseason and preseason for the 49ers franchise.” It is “just one more finger in the dam, it would appear, in terms of where the next crack will appear” (“NFL Total Access,” NFL Network, 8/27). In Sacramento, Matt Barrows notes this is the "13th time a 49ers player has been arrested or charged with a crime since 2012." Baalke "insisted the focus is on making sure there are no more incidents." He said, "Trust me, we're doing what we can. And that's the frustration" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 8/28).

TIME AFTER TIME AFTER TIME: CSNBayArea.com’s Ray Ratto said keeping Brooks on the team is “talent tolerance." Ratto said of players like Brooks, "They have talent, so they get second, third, fourth chances, and then there is a point at which (49ers CEO) Jed York decides, ‘I can’t tolerate this anymore.’ There’s no pattern to when Jed makes that up. … It’s just when Jed is tired of it.” Ratto: “They haven’t had enough of Ahmad Brooks yet, they still need him on the team so … they will rationalize and it’s not unusual for teams to do this.” Kawakami said for the 49ers, if winning football games “is the only thing that matters” then “just say that.” Kawakami: “Your guys can go out there and commit 15 felonies and you want to keep on playing them if they’re not suspended. But I don’t think they want to say that ... because I don’t think you sell tickets for that, I don’t think you sell sponsorships for that, I don’t think they want us talking about that.” Kawakami added, “At some point Jed York makes these decisions because he's the owner and you do want to hear him speak to this. He stepped forward and has spoken at other times and he has chosen not to speak for all these incidents" ("Sports Talk Live," CSN Bay Area, 8/27).

MENACE TO SOCIETY? In S.F., Scott Ostler wrote the 49ers are "guilty of being chronically oblivious to the dangerous people they keep employing to play football." Some might see the series of charges against McDonald and this allegation against Brooks as part of a "lingering ... hangover" related to former coach Jim Harbaugh. However, while the York/Baalke regime "did kick McDonald off the team for a pattern of questionable behavior, York and Baalke have been along for the entire, sordid ride." They "outranked and could have overruled Harbaugh's decisions at any time." Neither York nor Baalke has ever "spelled out what the 49ers will accept, where they draw the line, what standards they apply to their players." Ostler: "The 49ers have become a menace to society, not [merely] a public-relations problem for the team and the league. The team doesn't merely stockpile players with troubled pasts and presents. It brings in players who are a danger to the community" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/27).

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