When Kyle Shanahan was first hired by the 49ers, he explained he has two interests: Family and football. So when Vice President Mike Pence made a show out of exiting Lucas Oil Stadium because of the 49ers’ protest of the national anthem in order to shed light on social injustice, Shanahan said on Monday he wouldn’t address the situation with his team unless it became an issue.
“It’s just not something they (his players) are talking about a ton.” Shanahan said. “Therefore I don’t try to make myself hugely involved… I try to not make my perception a reality.”
Shanahan also said he can see both sides of the protest.
“This has been going on for a while. I think we can all see what’s going on,” Shanahan said. “I can respect his opinion. It bothered him and he wanted to leave. I respect some of our players’ opinion for the reason they want to kneel. I can listen to both sides of that and say, ‘That does make sense.’ But I am not going to sit here and give my opinion on who’s opinion is right; I can understand both sides. What I hope for, what I think we all hope for, is when our players don’t feel a need to do that any more and feel good about what’s going on.”
Shanahan has more pressing issues in his current position, including getting the 49ers their first win after four straight tight losses, including the last two in overtime.