Field Level Media
31 May 2020, 10:10 GMT+10
The San Francisco 49ers will donate $1 million to "local and national organizations who are creating change," CEO Jed York announced in a statement on Twitter on Saturday night, amid nationwide protests against discrimination and police brutality.
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.
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 MediaGet a daily dose of Texas Guardian news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Texas Guardian.
More InformationOTTAWA, Canada: With Canada Post struggling to maintain operations amid labour unrest, rivals like FedEx and UPS are stepping in to...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. and global markets showed a mixed performance in Tuesday's trading session, with some indices edging higher...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
NEW DELHI, India: Birkenstock is stepping up its efforts to protect its iconic sandals in India, as local legal representatives conducted...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...
NEW YORK, New York - Monday's trading session saw mixed performances across U.S. and global markets, with several major indices posting...
OTTAWA, Canada: With Canada Post struggling to maintain operations amid labour unrest, rivals like FedEx and UPS are stepping in to...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. and global markets showed a mixed performance in Tuesday's trading session, with some indices edging higher...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
NEW DELHI, India: Birkenstock is stepping up its efforts to protect its iconic sandals in India, as local legal representatives conducted...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...
NEW YORK, New York - Monday's trading session saw mixed performances across U.S. and global markets, with several major indices posting...