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The San Francisco 49ers are back in Santa Clara to begin preparations for the 13th week. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan met the media on Monday. He spoke about injury issues and future plans, but the focus of the press conference was on the decision to release Reuben Foster.
I've posted the specific part of Foster's transcript below, and you can watch the whole thing upstairs (or here). It was a fascinating press conference that was honestly worth a watch as much as a reading. He explained in detail his thought process regarding Foster, this situation and domestic violence in general.
I recommend watching because you can detect an emotion that you can not see in words. Who knows what will happen if another such situation arises, but Shanahan seemed to be as open about it as one would expect from a coach.
Our newspaper reported today that an incident had occurred between LB and Reuben Foster and his girlfriend in October that the police were called to. Images of her were also published on social media at home in August. Were you aware that it was an ongoing relationship and what were you doing to keep an eye on Reuben, which clearly needed to be monitored?
"I think we did a lot. First of all, we were not aware. N 'was certainly not aware. "
You were not aware at all?
"Of the instance you are talking about? Absolutely not. Nobody was in our building. The first time I heard about it, it was when someone told us when we landed after it was written on paper. Everyone in our building was the same about it. I knew Ruben had spoken to him and was still talking to him sometimes. I knew it just by asking him personally. Like, "How are things in his life? Have you seen it for a while? "But I absolutely did not think that they were living together or that they were dating."
Do you have to go back and reassess how you managed not only that, but all situations of that kind with a player who had marks against him entering the repechage?
"Yes, of course you do it. We had the best choice on Reuben and he is no longer there. So, of course, that's not how we planned to leave. Whenever this happens, you look at all these situations. We worked a lot in Reuben. I think a lot of us and a lot of people from the NFL had chosen from the top 10. Some things happened at the combine and we all looked at that, and that's why he fell a long way into the project. That's why we waited and did not drive it where we thought it was appreciated because we knew it was slipping and there were some risks. Once there, it felt good to take it. We thought we could help with some things. We jumped in front of a number of teams that were going to take it, and we felt comfortable there at that time. We have worked on him since he's here. I know that last year's events were the most important and we supported it for a number of reasons we discussed last year. We were going to let the process take care of itself. I think so. I think you all know what happened with that. That's what we felt from the beginning, so I felt good about it. I want to do what is right. We want to do what is right. We will not just do something just because people think something has happened or not. I would like to know. We supported Reuben through this and we felt comfortable. The way it worked, I'm glad we did. But we also knew that Rueben had bad decisions to make. We knew it when we took it. We thought it would improve and we would do everything in our power to help it. And Reuben has improved in some things. But, you know, for this to be what happened last year or earlier this year, and then what happened Saturday with the same person in a hotel team, it is difficult to understand how you can put yourself in this situation. again. I do not agree with that anyway. I do not know exactly what happened. Obviously, every time you deal with domestic violence or something like that, when there is a victim in domestic violence, there are not many things in the world that are worse than domestic violence and things like that. Everyone in our building is like the others. We are extremely convinced in this regard and we will always support it. I do not know exactly what happened between Ruben and the accuser. But, after that happened a second time with the same person in our hotel, I think that this decision was enough for us to move on. Who knows what happened Maybe people will find out. But that's not why we made that decision. "
Did you want to ask Reuben what happened? Have you had a conversation with him about this?
"No. I called Ruben today, I called him several times, it was not possible to contact him, he left a message, but once I get there I learned that the police were there, on the ground, they told me everything around eight o'clock, it was just before the meeting of the team, it was said that the police had They were there and it was about Reuben and as soon as that happened, I knew what was going to happen.
General manager John Lynch Previously, in the past, Ruben had yielded to the responsibility and he told you that he would not deceive. You have not thought of anything, "OK, let's see at least what he has to say?"
"Not this time, that's what I'm trying to explain the difference, it does not matter at the moment, we know the situation that happened the first time and it was very important for me, whether he did or not what he was accused of, as I said then, I think of you, as I told our team, it is not a difficult business. 39 a woman or a significant person, it is not a person who will be part of our team.It is very simple.but I want to know if it happened.It is not always because someone has accused someone that it's happening.This certainly does not mean that's not the case.you want to know.so we were not going to just jump on Reuben when we did not know it, that's why we did not do it, and I'm glad I did not do it because it turned out to be that way. you put in this situation, he made other bad decisions, then you talked about it with someone and you brought the wrong light that he brought to our organization, to yourself , to do all that and put you in this situation. again, it's somehow very difficult to trust their decision-making. I was very direct with him: if he did not prove to us that we could trust the way he made his decisions, it did not matter whether he was wrong or not. It's the consequences of life. If you put yourself in these situations, it does not suit us. "
Were there other times when you almost cut it off based on other incidents that might have occurred?
"No. The only time we got closer was when the first incidents of domestic violence broke out, he was adamant that it did not happen, and I sincerely believed it when I spoke to him face to face, but John and I were very clear with him, "Hey, we believe what you're saying, but we're just telling you that, as this process unfolds, if anything proves you have done or if we discover that you did it, it will be the day we get rid of you. "
Do you still believe it?
"I do not think it really matters. I do not think it's entirely fair to say that. You would like to believe people. I usually do it when they look you in the eye and tell you things. There is a part of Reuben, and I do not think everyone has the same situation as I grew up with. I think everyone is in a different situation. I think I have heard about the profession in which I am, but also very bad situations in which children grow up. Reuben grew to the same degree that I never heard. This is where I feel he has been struggling to be like everyone else. I believe in his heart. J & # 39; ai. I hope not to be wrong about this. Shame on me if I am. But I also know that he showed that we could not trust his decisions. So, no matter how much I think it could be better and that it shows clearly that it is someone you want to support and help, that's why we can not. He has demonstrated that you can not trust him to make the right decisions. Hopefully for Reuben's interest, I thought the bottom was last time and it was very simple to say it would be his wake up call, and I think it was in a lot of areas, but to put you in the situation that he put himself, whether it happened or not, if it had happened, it was so easy, but if it was not the case, the decision was still too bad to make us comfortable keeping this person in our organization. Hopefully this is a fund for him and that he can fend for himself while finding the way to succeed in his life or, hopefully, with another team someday. "
Football is a different subject, but you do not have it anymore in your team. What kind of effect does this have on your list, how do you think about what you need to do during the off-season and how do you plan it?
"A standard. That sucks. I would love to sit here and talk with you totally open all the time, but it was difficult in the first place. Personally, it hurt me, John, to hear people thinking that maybe we were doing this for Reuben because he was a good player or star player. Yes, it is much harder to get rid of a guy who you think is one of your most talented players. We try to add a lot more of these guys and we thought we had one. But it's never about it. Yes, it's more difficult because they really help you win, among other things, but if you hit a woman, the decision is not hard to make. "
Just to clarify the timeline, CB Richard Sherman had said last night that he had understood that this had happened at a team meeting. You say you knew before the team meeting.
"Yes, I did."
So, Reuben was obviously not at the team meeting.
"No. Yeah, players do not know I'm getting ready to participate in a team meeting Usually, when something happens, people will first call the general manager or the director. head coach.The cops were called to the hotel. [director of team security] Mike Anderson, our security guard, calls me right away and I am at the bottom of a shift meeting at about 10 minutes. So, I hear that and he tells me what happened, the cops were accused of domestic violence and we are here with the cops. I thought, "Very good."
Before you go to the meeting? You did not leave the meeting?
"No, I did not leave the meeting. I am preparing to enter and I have heard. It was a difficult thing to hear. But that's what I was trying to explain. If it was another player who had never participated in something like that before, we would have been much more patient. "Hey, yes, it's a horrible accusation, let's see what it is and let us know and try to shed light on the truth." In this situation, because of what we experienced before, It did not matter, I already knew it, it sucks, it's over here.
You and John both use the phrase "protect the team," which may have been misinterpreted. I was just wondering, what does this phrase mean to you?
"Protecting the team means making sure everyone in our organization knows there is not a person bigger than this organization. I am very proud to be the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. I also know that when I'm not there, there will be many more 49er coaches. Whoever it is, the 49ers are more important than anyone. Whether it is a player or a coach, it does not matter. I say that for people to understand. That does not mean, "Hey, protect the team so we're not bad." It means that you have a responsibility and that you are not bigger than our organization and that you can not do things and think it's just you. You represent our place. We want people to be our place and not just from the point of view of perception. I want it to be real. I hope it happens that way. But protecting the team is really a check of the reality of our world. You work for a place that, I do not care about your quality, this place is bigger than you and you have to understand that. "
Can you explain the process you undertook once you selected it? Do you feel comfortable with the way you treated Reuben Foster throughout his career with the 49ers?
"Yes, I do it personally. I think we did everything in our power to help Reuben. You can watch everything. Do we know what happened in October or whatever? No, we did not do it. Did you know that someone was at home? No, I could have lived there personally and I would have known, but that's not what I want. If you have to do something like this, finally, the person I would prefer to expose and continue, then we continue to play this game. I want people who try to improve. I think Reuben was in some ways, but not enough. He had a long way to go and he did not go far enough. But when I look back, did we manage something wrong with what we tried to do for Reuben? I think we tried to do more for him than I've ever seen anywhere else for a player. "
Some places, like with Dez Bryantthey somehow assign a person to babysit, live with someone. Have you already taken this step?
"We have people who work a lot with him and work with him more than anything. I say we would have done everything except that one person lives with him. We have had [director of player engagement] Austin [Moss II] Go to his house every day, always on the phone, things like that. But everyone can have different opinions. If you need to live with one person every second, then I do not think you totally think that person is what we thought of Ruben. It's a bit like hiding what you really know. We are not here to watch him and make sure, "Hey, do not ever fool yourself, you hurt us to win games." We are here to help guys become better players. And if you have to stay there and spy on them every second, I promise you it may sound good, but I know you're talking about it, I do not think it was Dez, I think it was [Adam Jones] Pacman, but I do not think it worked well. "
You said you did not talk to him today, but do you know if he went back to the San Francisco Bay Area or who he is with or with any of these elements?
"No I do not know. I called him this morning and I'm not sure. "
Did you just call to tell him that you had cut him?
"No, I think that he knew. I've known Reuben for two years now. I am very disappointed with him, but that does not mean I do not care about him. That does not mean we have no relationship and he did not die for me because it happened. I'm sure it's a tough day for him and he got into that situation, so I do not feel bad about it. But I will not ignore it. I wanted to call him and have a chance to talk to him. But I did not get an answer. I just left him a voice message.
Let's be clear: did you know a month ago that this woman was back in life, would you have cut her then?
"No, I will never give an ultimatum to someone who does not come out with this person or not, but I can not say that you can not be part of the team. I know just when bad things happen and you tell me why, and if you are certain that this is due to certain reasons, then very well, it's very easy to understand, I hear what you say. Well, you have to make sure that it will not happen again. How can you do that? Continuing to be with this person, whether it happened or not, that's not what I'm trying to say, it's not a very good judgment. I believed what Reuben had said, but for him to be able to say that and then show the judgment that he made, I personally have a hard time understanding this and understanding how this could happen . "
Was it difficult at a certain level for you to coach yesterday? As you said, you spent two years at Reuben and you obviously recognize that it is bigger than football. Was it difficult to change gears so quickly?
"No, because a game starts at a certain time and you know what you need to do. I find it hard to think of both. I'm used to being ready for games, no matter what happens and you're ready for it. You are locked up and there is nothing else in the world. Then you have to adjust and think about what's going on. Things on Reuben, it struck me Saturday night, but I knew that I could not stay up all night because I had to do a lot of things on the day of the match. So, I took my melatonin and tried to put me to sleep. I took a little extra charge to be able to sleep, then I woke up and did everything with the game. I prepare a lot before the matches and I would say that it touched me a lot more last night . "
Sherman seemed visibly upset after the match while talking about Reuben. Was there more of that among the other teammates?
"Visibly annoyed in what way?"
He was very sad that the situation occurred with Ruben.
"Yes, I think a lot of guys were there. Do not confuse yourself with that, I tried to say at the beginning, when I say we feel for Reuben, it's not at all because if anyone is involved in domestic violence, you feel more sorry for that person than anyone else in the world. So, make no mistake. But people like Reuben here. I know that you who have spoken with him and so on, I think you can understand why people love him and that's why people believe in him. But, he continued to disappoint in some ways. You are a little more patient with him in some of these areas, knowing what his education has been, knowing that he seems to be sincere in the way he works to improve it. So I think a lot of players and coaches really wanted to help Reuben. I had a number of players, when I told them yesterday, they apologized. They were like, "Sorry, Kyle. I hope we could have done more. We really wanted to help. It's a bit like what we felt. We all fired for Reuben and it did not work. It's his fault and I thought it would have happened the last time, but it's not the case and it's his fault. Hopefully it wakes him up enough so that he can get everything together and that he succeeds somewhere else.
You said, I think yesterday, that your door would open today. Have players come or talked to groups about this?
"Yes, I said that yesterday before the match because you never know how, you have 63 guys with the training team, so you do not know how everyone thinks. If someone is disturbed, I always want him to come. Nobody came before the game. We had a team meeting. I said a lot of things that I told you guys. I told them everything and told everyone the same thing, that if someone is confused with what I say or do not understand my reasons or think that I've done some wrong thing, I want to know what you think, please come to my office and tell me if you can enlighten me on something or that I can better explain myself because You do not understand me. No one has come. "
Have you had the chance to oppose this draft? Was this part of your rights in your contract?
"Yeah, I did not read my contract, actually, never, I had someone else do it, and John, I do not know if he has one. But, every decision here, every draft that we have made, I support them all.Everyone is never that John or never me.It's both of us.
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