Fred Warner made it plain that the 49ers aren’t carrying Jed York’s arrest into the locker room.
Speaking after practice as camp starts to wind down, the linebacker said the owner’s situation never turned into a team-wide discussion. Players saw the headlines, but they moved on.
“We’re all aware; we all have social media so we see things,” he said, via Pro Football Talk. “But at the same time, I’ve got a lot of love, a lot of respect for Jed, and don’t feel the need to comment on the situation.”
Warner added, “It really wasn’t a conversation being had in the locker room,” he said.
Kyle Shanahan offered the same basic message from the coaching side. He described the episode as a personal matter and said it had no impact on the football operation. Shanahan also said he spoke with York over the last two days.
York was arrested Sunday in East Palestine, Ohio, after police said he responded to an undercover ad. Authorities said he used the name “Joe” in fake name texts before showing up at a trailer park.
He later pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and possession of criminal tools. A judge fined him $1,150 and gave him two days in jail, with credit for time served ending the case in one day.
The NFL is now reviewing the matter under its personal conduct policy.
Warner wasn’t interested in piling on, and Shanahan has kept his comments tight as well. The coach said the family matters to him and noted that York has spent much of camp away from Santa Clara. Shanahan had already framed the situation by saying it was “kind of irrelevant to our guys.”
Shannon Sharpe took a different approach on his podcast, arguing that York is still human and defending the owner after the sting. Inside the 49ers building, though, the emphasis has stayed on football.
That’s especially true with Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams in the first-ever NFL game in Australia just 15 days away. The final preseason game comes Thursday against the Raiders, and players fighting for roster spots have bigger things to worry about than headlines involving the owner. York also filed for divorce earlier this year and has been living more in Ohio lately, details that remain outside the locker room for now.
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