http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/football/sf_49ers/story/13046010p-13891757c.html
49ers adviser finds Donahue at fault
Harry Edwards says his role was diminished by the ex-GM.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, June 11, 2005
Harry Edwards will never know for sure, but he's confident the once-proud 49ers' name wouldn't be so muddy if he hadn't been cast to the side of the road.
And after his role as a player advisor/educator/resident role model was drastically decreased alongside a regime change four years ago, the 49ers have asked for his help to clean up the mess.
Edwards - a renowned sociologist, a Ph.D., and former Cal professor who began as a team consultant in 1985 - watched along with the rest of America on June 1, when an in-house video intended to train 49ers players on matters of the media and the public offended so many factions of society. It was racy, with topless women cavorting around the video's brainchild, since-resigned public relations director Kirk Reynolds. It portrayed homosexuals and Asians in an unfavorable and stereotypical light, leaving millions of fans and critics shocked from coast to coast. Edwards, however, wasn't surprised.
"This came up under the old regime, and a lot of us could see this train leaving the track a long time ago," Edwards said. "But what do you do when the engineer says, 'I'm sorry. I don't have a need for that map?'" The engineer, Edwards said, was former general manager Terry Donahue, who was fired in January and whom Reynolds has accused as the one who leaked the tape to the San Francisco Chronicle. The proverbial map was Edwards, who handled all matters of player education until, he said, Donahue diminished his role after he became the general manager in 2001. Edwards said Donahue put an end to his daily visits into the locker room, where he would often speak to players both young and old about the pressures of prominence.
"We drilled things like respecting other people, yourself, your relationships at home ... how the San Francisco Bay Area is probably most the integrated, diverse area in the country and that was something you have to be sensitive to," Edwards said. "(But) my role in speaking to the team on these issues was severely limited. I was told straight up (by Donahue), we don't have a role for you in that regard."
His duties were relegated to player personnel issues, research for the annual draft, and handling the contracts of veteran free agents. Yet with Donahue gone, Edwards said team owner John York asked him to return to his familiar role and advise the team's diversity council. When possible, York and Edwards now meet for "three or four hours per week," discussing the state of the team and the latest issues. Donahue did not return a call for comment, nor did the team's general counsel Ed Goines.
Former 49ers running back Roger Craig said there was no need for video tapes with Edwards around. Craig, who won three Super Bowls with the 49ers in eight seasons and retired in 1994, said Edwards' influence was invaluable.
"He was our guy," Craig said. "He let us know the dos and the don'ts, as far as warning us about drugs, warning us about prostitution, warning us about all these different things, about rape, about things you shouldn't do, and we respected him for that.
He had our undivided attention. We were like, 'Oh, OK, we'd better do the right things here.'"
Edwards said his only method of communication was his own words.
"You have to know how to teach football players, not through a skit or some risqué nonsense," Edwards said. "It's about introspecting into their world and understanding them... . The idea that these athletes are so far out that (this) is the only way you can get to them is stupidity. It's the responsibility of the teacher, who shouldn't resort to that sort of thing."
Which he said they never did in the franchise's glory days.
"When anything came up in the locker room, and it involved a slight, an epitaph, everything stopped," Edwards said. "(Former coach) Bill (Walsh) would call a meeting, say 'Gentlemen, we can't have this. We can't live like this. This is not conducive to everything that's come together and we're not going to tolerate it."
Two days before the tape was leaked, Edwards spoke to a group of 49ers for the first time in four years. He talked to the team's rookies, discussing the responsibilities that come with being a 49er. Two days later, No. 1 draft pick quarterback Alex Smith approached him.
"He said, 'Well, Doc, you said that before the season was over, that something would come up that we'd have to deal with," Edwards said. "I wish I had your crystal ball."
What Edwards sees next is a franchise that's already back on track. He's a big fan of first-year coach Mike Nolan, and is steadfast that "York's heart was always in the right place."
He blames the system and Donahue more than Reynolds himself, whom he called "a great guy."
"What this indicates is not bad people, (but) an organizational breakdown," Edwards said. "At end of the day, because of that fact, and because we still have good people in the building, it can be fixed. This can be remedied."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
49ers adviser finds Donahue at fault
Harry Edwards says his role was diminished by the ex-GM.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, June 11, 2005
Harry Edwards will never know for sure, but he's confident the once-proud 49ers' name wouldn't be so muddy if he hadn't been cast to the side of the road.
And after his role as a player advisor/educator/resident role model was drastically decreased alongside a regime change four years ago, the 49ers have asked for his help to clean up the mess.
Edwards - a renowned sociologist, a Ph.D., and former Cal professor who began as a team consultant in 1985 - watched along with the rest of America on June 1, when an in-house video intended to train 49ers players on matters of the media and the public offended so many factions of society. It was racy, with topless women cavorting around the video's brainchild, since-resigned public relations director Kirk Reynolds. It portrayed homosexuals and Asians in an unfavorable and stereotypical light, leaving millions of fans and critics shocked from coast to coast. Edwards, however, wasn't surprised.
"This came up under the old regime, and a lot of us could see this train leaving the track a long time ago," Edwards said. "But what do you do when the engineer says, 'I'm sorry. I don't have a need for that map?'" The engineer, Edwards said, was former general manager Terry Donahue, who was fired in January and whom Reynolds has accused as the one who leaked the tape to the San Francisco Chronicle. The proverbial map was Edwards, who handled all matters of player education until, he said, Donahue diminished his role after he became the general manager in 2001. Edwards said Donahue put an end to his daily visits into the locker room, where he would often speak to players both young and old about the pressures of prominence.
"We drilled things like respecting other people, yourself, your relationships at home ... how the San Francisco Bay Area is probably most the integrated, diverse area in the country and that was something you have to be sensitive to," Edwards said. "(But) my role in speaking to the team on these issues was severely limited. I was told straight up (by Donahue), we don't have a role for you in that regard."
His duties were relegated to player personnel issues, research for the annual draft, and handling the contracts of veteran free agents. Yet with Donahue gone, Edwards said team owner John York asked him to return to his familiar role and advise the team's diversity council. When possible, York and Edwards now meet for "three or four hours per week," discussing the state of the team and the latest issues. Donahue did not return a call for comment, nor did the team's general counsel Ed Goines.
Former 49ers running back Roger Craig said there was no need for video tapes with Edwards around. Craig, who won three Super Bowls with the 49ers in eight seasons and retired in 1994, said Edwards' influence was invaluable.
"He was our guy," Craig said. "He let us know the dos and the don'ts, as far as warning us about drugs, warning us about prostitution, warning us about all these different things, about rape, about things you shouldn't do, and we respected him for that.
He had our undivided attention. We were like, 'Oh, OK, we'd better do the right things here.'"
Edwards said his only method of communication was his own words.
"You have to know how to teach football players, not through a skit or some risqué nonsense," Edwards said. "It's about introspecting into their world and understanding them... . The idea that these athletes are so far out that (this) is the only way you can get to them is stupidity. It's the responsibility of the teacher, who shouldn't resort to that sort of thing."
Which he said they never did in the franchise's glory days.
"When anything came up in the locker room, and it involved a slight, an epitaph, everything stopped," Edwards said. "(Former coach) Bill (Walsh) would call a meeting, say 'Gentlemen, we can't have this. We can't live like this. This is not conducive to everything that's come together and we're not going to tolerate it."
Two days before the tape was leaked, Edwards spoke to a group of 49ers for the first time in four years. He talked to the team's rookies, discussing the responsibilities that come with being a 49er. Two days later, No. 1 draft pick quarterback Alex Smith approached him.
"He said, 'Well, Doc, you said that before the season was over, that something would come up that we'd have to deal with," Edwards said. "I wish I had your crystal ball."
What Edwards sees next is a franchise that's already back on track. He's a big fan of first-year coach Mike Nolan, and is steadfast that "York's heart was always in the right place."
He blames the system and Donahue more than Reynolds himself, whom he called "a great guy."
"What this indicates is not bad people, (but) an organizational breakdown," Edwards said. "At end of the day, because of that fact, and because we still have good people in the building, it can be fixed. This can be remedied."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
