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York added that the team "is committing to
support the legislative priorities of the Players Coalition," an
organization founded by NFL players in 2017 to oppose social
injustice and racial inequality.
"People throughout our country are hurting," York said in a
statement. "Emotions are raw, and rightfully so. Heinous acts
have been committed in recent weeks. Before we are able to
realize impactful change, we must first have the courage and
compassion as human beings to come together and acknowledge the
problem: black men, women, children and other oppressed
minorities continue to be systematically discriminated against."
The statement drew mixed responses from former 49ers players.
Wideout Torrey Smith, who played for San Francisco from 2015-16
and has been involved in the Players Coalition, retweeted York
and added, "I've had countless conversations with Jed about
these issues when I was in SF. I'm grateful for his commitment
to the Bay and injustices everywhere. Thanks
@JedYork!"
A few minutes later, former 49ers safety Eric Reid, who played
with the 49ers from 2013-17, responded differently to York.
"Nobody wants your money Jed," he wrote. "We want justice. We've
always wanted justice. Y'all are truly diluted."
Reid, who was the first player to kneel with Kaepernick to
protest social injustice in 2016, withdrew from the Players
Coalition along with a few others in December of 2017, saying
the group was selling out and was not accomplishing anything
meaningful.
When a user brought up Kaepernick in a reply to York, Smith
added, "I was there and watched the way (York) handled the Kap's
protest. He was willing to support in anyway possible and was
trying to figure out and understand how to help. I never heard
him say 'don't kneel one time'. He focused on helping. He has my
respect forever."
Reid replied to Smith's tweet by saying, "You speak based on
your experience and I understand that. However, I can tell you
that you never heard him say 'don't kneel' because you never
knelt. He begged me not to kneel."
"Fair," Smith replied.
York's statement comes after days of protests in dozens of
cities across the country, following the death of George Floyd
earlier this week. Floyd, who is black, died while in police
custody in Minneapolis on Monday, leading to murder and
manslaughter charges against officer Derek Chauvin, who is
white.
--Field Level Media
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