SANTA CLARA, CA – FEBRUARY 9: CEO Jed York of the San Francisco 49ers addresses the media during a press conference at Levi Stadium on February 9, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers press conference was setup to introducing the new general manager, John Lynch, and the teams new head coach, Kyle Shanahan. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images).
In the wake of George Floyd’s tragic and heinous murder by Minneapolis police, along with the deaths of other black men and women around the country, most recently Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, the United States has erupted in protests.
As the country endures this painful, brutal period of justly-founded anger — and hopefully, through that pain, a meaningful, tangible re-awakening defined by widespread reforms — San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York announced his organization would be taking action.
York first acknowledged the stark reality in America, the one which has been all-too-often buried, and which is at the heart of this now-erupted powder-keg borne from racial injustice: Black men, women, children and people of color are discriminated again solely on the basis of the color of their skin on an unrelenting basis.
“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,” York wrote.
Along with that acknowledgment came action: the 49ers are committing to support the Player Coalition’s legislative priorities and will donate $1 million to local and national organizations “who are creating change.”
York’s full statement is below:
— Jed York (@JedYork) May 31, 2020