- 1 day ago
Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle columnist, joins Willard and Dibs to react to 49ers owner Jed York's arrest and what it means for the 49ers going forward.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Let's go out to Ann Killian, San Francisco Chronicle.
00:03She's been writing about this, and I know is thrilled to talk about it,
00:08so let's do a little bit of that.
00:10Hi, Ann. How are you doing today?
00:12How are you guys?
00:13We're fantastic.
00:16Yeah, I don't think any of us had this on our bingo card when we got up Monday morning.
00:20No.
00:20No, we went from 0 to 60 rather fast to start this week,
00:26where we thought we would be talking about George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey
00:30back on the practice field.
00:32But here we are.
00:34Where do you think this is going?
00:36What is the effect on the organization?
00:39Well, I think all these people are just trying to minimize it and say,
00:43oh, it has no effect, and it doesn't affect the line on the game
00:46or what the guys are going to feel when they take the field.
00:49I mean, no, that's true, but it's going to have an enormous effect on the organization.
00:54It's a horrible look.
00:56It's embarrassing.
00:57It's embarrassing for Jed York.
00:59It's embarrassing for his parents.
01:01It's embarrassing for the entire family.
01:03It's embarrassing for the organization, for the team.
01:06It's embarrassing for the league.
01:09I mean, it is about as tawdry a little situation as you could dream up.
01:15And, yeah, it's very embarrassing.
01:18This is one of the flagship teams of the NFL.
01:21They're about to leave.
01:22They hosted the, first of all, they hosted the Super Bowl six months ago.
01:26They're about to leave on a goodwill tour to Australia to promote the game,
01:32you know, and they're one of the featured teams.
01:36You know, they're worth over $8 billion.
01:39I mean, it's just, it has an impact on the organization.
01:44This is not something that's just going to be swept under the rug.
01:47And when your leader, I mean, we see this in all parts of society, including at the very top.
01:55Like when your leader is, has terrible judgment and a lack of integrity,
02:03it changes the way everything operates underneath them.
02:08And I'm not saying that it's going to, this is going to change the way the 49ers operate,
02:12but it fundamentally changes the way this team is viewed, this franchise is viewed.
02:18And, you know, I, they're, they've been a pretty stellar organization for the last 10 years since Shanahan and Lynch
02:28came on.
02:29And that it's, it's super tarnished.
02:31So it's just, it's kind of amazing that someone, you know, with every privilege in the world could just be
02:37so reckless and so stupid.
02:41And, you know, a guy who got his job because his uncle got in legal trouble.
02:49The only reason Jed has this job is because of a run-in with the law by the previous owner.
02:55And like, it's just, it's, it's kind of unbelievable to me that someone could be that stupid.
03:00Do you think that this is survivable?
03:03And if so, is it in part because Jed's parents aren't as principally involved as they once were?
03:10I think it's survivable, sure.
03:12I don't think the tarnish necessarily goes away if it is survivable.
03:16I mean, there's surviving and there's thriving.
03:18And those are two different things.
03:20You know, the CEO got caught on the Coldplay kiss cam resigned, you know, like, like things have consequences.
03:29Your behavior has consequences.
03:31I, I, I'm not sure what John and Denise would do about this.
03:41I imagine they're getting some advice.
03:45You know, I don't know if the twins would be in any position, you know, Jed's two younger sisters to,
03:52to, to, to take over any kind of, you know, leadership role.
03:58If, if Jed stepped away, I mean, I don't think so.
04:01They've never seemed like that.
04:02But, you know, this has been Jed's baby from the time he was, you know, well, I guess from the
04:09time his parents took over the team, which was when he was 20 years old.
04:13But, you know, he took over a CEO when he was 28, highly unqualified, I might add, and, and showed
04:21it on a regular basis for a long, long time for about a decade.
04:24And then, you know, luckily hired two really smart, good football guys and has kind of, you know, stepped back.
04:33And, um, I, I mean, survivable, sure.
04:36But I don't know what, what, uh, I don't know what the league's going to do.
04:42I don't know what mommy and daddy are going to do.
04:44Um, I, yeah, I, I don't know.
04:48I mean, I, I don't, I don't think we're looking at a new ownership, but someone else has raised the
04:54possibility that, you know, maybe the, the Yorks are like, whew, we can make a lot of money if we
04:59sold this team.
05:01That's true.
05:02Yeah.
05:02I mean, in this day and age, uh, there, there's no questioning that.
05:06And Killian, San Francisco Chronicle joining us here.
05:09Willard and Dibbs, 95-7 the game.
05:11Hey, Ann, uh, what does practice feel and sound like for the 49ers just tomorrow, uh, with regard to, to,
05:19to all of this?
05:21Well, I have no idea because I haven't been to practice yet.
05:23Okay.
05:24Um, but, uh, I would imagine it, it involves a lot of questions about this.
05:30Um, and that's, uh, you know, not going to be comfortable or, or really fair to, you know, the, what
05:37are the players going to say?
05:38Like, um, yeah, I don't know.
05:40I don't know what to say.
05:41This is weird.
05:42Like, you know, all of them probably are like, dude, really?
05:45You can take care of your business better than this.
05:48But I don't, I don't know.
05:50You know, it's, it's, you have to, you know, Kyle and John are going to have to answer questions about
05:54this.
05:54And then let's not forget, like I said, they're going to be ambassadors for the NFL starting in a week.
06:00And you, you don't think the Australian journalists are going to want to ask some questions about this.
06:05I mean, it's, it's, it's the height of embarrassment to do this on the eve of, you know, this very,
06:12I know nobody's thrilled about going to Australia, um, on the team, but, but it's a very prominent thing.
06:19And it's part of their role that they've assumed as being this, this key franchise, you know, you get a
06:27host to Superbowl, you get to go to Australia and kind of sell the game.
06:32And for him to get arrested in a trailer park, trying to solicit a $140 hooker at nine 30 in
06:40the morning on a Sunday morning, when, you know, he's a good Catholic boy.
06:44I, I don't know.
06:44It's not a good look.
06:46Yeah.
06:47That's a quite a, um, encapsulation of the, uh, the understatement there, Anna and Killian here on 95, seven, the
06:54game.
06:54I'm wondering about the Levi stadium, Santa Clara piece of it.
06:58I'm reading your article and you mentioned that, you know, he ostensibly paid a lot of money to get his
07:05people onto the Santa Clara city council.
07:08If he happens to, I don't know, have to take a step back.
07:11Does that change the political dynamic of what Levi stadium actually is?
07:17I would imagine.
07:19Um, yeah, cause he's the, the, the driver of this strange, let's buy the city council, um, and get, you
07:27know.
07:28All the oversight that the city has tried to put in, taken away, um, you know, that's been a, a
07:35Jed York thing.
07:36Um, so I don't, I don't know, but I mean, my point for bringing up the Santa Clara stuff is
07:43this, you know, this, this is, there are two very different things, but they both indicate someone who doesn't think
07:52that they really have to play by the same rules.
07:55Um, you know, the guy that he endorsed for mayor and, and, and, uh, you know, one of his guys
08:03on the city council, you know, had to, had to plead, uh, guilty to perjury because he lied to the
08:11grand jury.
08:11So there's been a lot of really, uh, kind of icky stuff that's gone on with the Santa Clara stuff
08:19with Jed, which, um, yeah, is, I mean, like I said, it falls into a different bucket, but it also
08:26is, falls into a, uh, an icky bucket.
08:30And I know we're, we're sort of talking and we have been, even before you kind of came on the
08:35idea of the compartmentalization of all of this, you know, sure.
08:38Maybe this doesn't affect, um, you know, Christian McCaffrey trying to hit the a gap, but I'm, I'm intrigued by
08:44the article that you just, you know, that, that you just released.
08:48And the headline sort of says it signals a major, a major leadership void that, that speaks to me in
08:56terms of this does matter, at least in terms of organizational stability going forward.
09:03So I guess if you think this is survivable, the next question is how do they fill that void?
09:11Well, you know, there's the, the figurehead is John Lynch and, and Jed has been smart enough ever since he
09:20hired John and Kyle to, to step back and not be, you know, upfront.
09:26But, but still, you know, when it comes down to negotiating with players, when it comes down to negotiating all
09:32these deals, when it comes down to sponsorships, all those things are reflective of the entire organization.
09:39And Jed York in particular, as this, you know, billionaire presence in Silicon Valley.
09:45So I, I think that, you know, this, this is going to have an impact on all of that.
09:50I, I just think it's just a terrible look when you're, when your leader has this complete, you know, not
10:00only a lack of integrity, but just a, just a complete lapse in judgment.
10:06And you have to wonder, you know, is this a one-off?
10:09Is this, is, you know, is this something that has happened before and we just don't know about it?
10:15I mean, I, I, you know, I don't know the circumstances, but it's, it's just such a bizarre thing to,
10:25for someone with all the means, with all the, so much to, to risk in terms of, you know, his,
10:35his children.
10:36Let's not forget about that.
10:38Um, his, his reputation, his organization, um, his family history.
10:44I mean, he grew up right there.
10:46They're probably the most prominent family in, you know, that, that 50 mile radius.
10:52It's just, it's, it's, it's bizarre.
10:54So it certainly calls into judgment.
10:57Um, and you know, if he's, if he's the leader and he's making decisions, you know, now they've sold chairs
11:04to equity partners.
11:06And those people have got to be thinking like, okay, is this my partner that I trust to make the
11:11decisions?
11:13Um, yeah, it's, it's, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm not a, uh, an MBA.
11:19I couldn't help project to you what the, the, the arc of the, uh, scandal through the company is going
11:27to be.
11:27But I do, I do think it has ramifications.
11:29It could even, you know, you mentioned Christian McCaffrey, it could even have ramifications for, you know, super religious players
11:37like Christian McCaffrey, who have fined on with this team.
11:42I mean, you know, you, people want to be associated with teams that they feel reflect their values.
11:47And, um, you know, this, this could have implications within the, you know, the free agency base.
11:56Who knows?
11:57You listen to 95.7, the game KGMZ FM in HD one, San Francisco and Odyssey sports station and the
12:03home of the golden state warriors and Valkyries always live on the free Odyssey app.
12:07And coming to you live from the laughing monk studios.
12:09And you mentioned the other owners, but are there any corporate relationships that you would think run anathema to exactly
12:17this type of behavior that might cost the 49ers actual dollars?
12:23Um, I don't know.
12:24I could, I couldn't say I'm not, I'm not that well-versed in all of their many, uh, you know,
12:30partnerships and everything else, but, but certainly, you know, the league has a lot of partnerships that are, um, you
12:38know,
12:39uh, for, you know, forward facing active, even though no one would think of the NFL as a particularly, um,
12:49uh, you know, progressive league.
12:52It certainly has causes and, and things that wants to push that this would be, you know, this is an,
12:59it's an embarrassment.
13:00It's an embarrassment for the league in, in, in those regards as well.
13:04But as far as, you know, specific sponsors pulling out, I, I couldn't speak to that.
13:09And I, I wonder, and your article makes reference to the fact that we, we know the league's personal conduct
13:14policy, uh, they're going to run that through this.
13:17And, um, but any idea based on precedent, what you think the league will do here and what does it
13:22mean to suspend an owner?
13:23I don't even know what that means.
13:25I don't know what that means either.
13:27Yeah.
13:27You cannot sit in your luxury suite.
13:29You have to watch a game on TV.
13:31Um, that's gonna be tough for all of us.
13:33Yeah, I think that the key is the fines that they've handed out in the past.
13:37And obviously Robert Kraft is the closest, uh, comp in terms of what, what he did, um, you know, was
13:44able to like kind of get off on a technicality cause he had super good lawyers who fought, but that,
13:50you know, that, that was never, he was never found guilty.
13:54Right.
13:55Those charges were dropped.
13:56Now, Jed has, has fled to a, a much lesser charge.
14:01So, you know, I, I, I would imagine it's going to go through the conduct policy and I would imagine
14:06he would face a fine for sure.
14:08For sure.
14:10Um, and great work.
14:11Thank you for, uh, for hopping on.
14:13We appreciate you always.
14:15All right.
14:16Thanks you guys.
14:17And Killian, San Francisco Chronicle.
Comments