49ers CEO Jed York Defends Team's Response To Ray McDonald Arrest For Alleged Domestic Violence; 'Not Ray Rice'
SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York offered his first comments Tuesday on the arrest of defensive end Ray McDonald on domestic violence charges, defending the team's decision to allow McDonald to play as the legal process plays out.
In an interview with KNBR 680 Tuesday, York echoed previous comments by head coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke, saying an investigation has yet to determine anything.
"I will not punish somebody until we see evidence something should be done or until an entire police investigation shows us something," York told KNBR 680.
McDonald is out on $25,000 bail after his August 31 arrest. Police who were called to the couple's Bentley Ridge Drive home in San Jose following a birthday party for McDonald reported his wife showed "visible injuries."
Prosecutors have not charged McDonald with a crime. The Sacramento Bee reported police had been called to the McDonalds' home at least once before for an unspecified disturbance in May.
McDonald's case comes amid the furor over how the league handled Rice's domestic-violence incident.
Rice was cut from the team and suspended by the NFL Monday after a video was released showing knocking out his then-fiancée in a New Jersey's casino elevator. The NFL initially had given Rice a two-game suspension before the video was released.
York told KNBR he did not equate the two cases. "Each case is its own separate case. Ray McDonald is not Ray Rice," York said. "As a society, we have a sense of saying, 'You didn't do it with Ray Rice right away, so you need to overdo it with Ray McDonald, or whoever else it is.' I don't believe that's the country we live in. I don't think that's a fair way to approach it."
Hall of Fame coach John Madden told KCBS 740/106.9 Tuesday he believes the 49ers should have benched McDonald with pay pending the outcome of the legal investigation. Former 49ers players Ronnie Lott, Steve Young and Brent Jones have each publicly disagreed with the team's decision to allow McDonald to play following his arrest.
Meanwhile at Tuesday's San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor London Breed introduced a resolution denouncing the 49ers and saying McDonald should not be allowed to play in the team's next game on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, the first regular season NFL game at Levi's Stadium.