49ers’ Dre Greenlaw, Eagles security head exchange apologies،
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Three days after the brawl that resulted in the ejection of San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw and Philadelphia Eagles chief security guard Dom DiSandro, both sides appear ready to move on thing.
Speaking to the media for the first time since he was ejected for touching DiSandro's face during Sunday's 43-19 victory, Greenlaw said he and DiSandro exchanged apologies through intermediaries.
“We have just exchanged formal apologies between me and [Niners general manager John Lynch] and some of the same people we know in the building and stuff like that,” Greenlaw said. “He seemed like a genuine guy. He seemed like a guy that everyone in the building liked. So, I hate it, honestly. I really hate that this escalated and I left there. »
On Monday, the league office told ESPN it would look into the secondary incident between Greenlaw and DiSandro. Greenlaw and Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that they have not heard from the NFL and do not expect any further discipline for Greenlaw beyond the 15-yard penalty and the expulsion he received on Sunday. The matter is still under review by the league office, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday, and there is expected to be a follow-up with the Eagles this week.
The NFL sent a memo to all teams Wednesday afternoon reminding them to “please ensure that all members of your game day staff understand that their role does not extend to involvement in the day's altercations of the match and that they must refrain from such involvement.
The incident in question took place about 5 1/2 minutes into the third quarter, when Greenlaw tackled Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith near the Philadelphia sideline after a 13-yard run. Greenlaw lifted Smith off his feet and slammed him to the ground, drawing a flag for unnecessary roughness.
As Greenlaw and Smith stood up, Eagles staff and players rushed over and began yelling along with Greenlaw and some of his teammates. Replays showed DiSandro got a hold of Greenlaw and pushed him away from the Eagles sideline. Greenlaw was yelling and pointing as DiSandro stepped into the middle and Greenlaw's hand appeared to make contact with DiSandro's face.
That resulted in an automatic disqualification after review of the play in New York, according to a pool report with Walt Anderson, the NFL's senior vice president of officiating. Greenlaw acknowledged Wednesday that he wasn't surprised by the flag, but disagreed with the decision to expel it.
“I felt like I shouldn’t have been kicked out, but I can’t go back and talk about it now,” Greenlaw said. “They did their job.”
As Greenlaw returned to the Niners sideline to plead his case to teammates and coaches, officials also ejected DiSandro for what Anderson described as “contributing to the escalation” of an argument.
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan, who vehemently expressed his displeasure with Greenlaw's ejection, was particularly bothered by the fact that one of his players was ejected for a confrontation with someone who did not was neither a player nor a coach.
Shanahan said Wednesday he understood the penalty flag on Greenlaw, but he wished no one had been ejected.
“I don't think so either [DiSandro] pushed [Greenlaw] so serious, so I'm not trying to expand on that either,” Shanahan said. “Those kinds of things happen all the time and people break them. There are no penalties and you can go back and continue your life and move it forward. Dre just got kicked out, and when they look at why, I guess this guy should have been kicked out too. But that's why I don't want this guy to be an example. I just think we should have kept moving forward.”
Shanahan also expressed confidence that after what happened Sunday, the league will ensure that incidents like the one that took place in Philadelphia do not become a common practice in the league where teams happily trade a member of the personnel against a key player on the other side. .
“It won't, it can't be and that's why they probably made a big deal out of it [it]” Shanahan said. “This can't be a strategy. They will end this, which I think they already have. »
“We just exchanged formal apologies between me and (Niners general manager) John (Lynch) and some of the same people that we know in the building and stuff like that. He seemed like a real guy. He seemed like a guy that everyone in the building liked. So, I hate it, honestly. I really hate that it even escalated and got to this point.”
49ers LB Dre Greenlaw
The 49ers view Greenlaw as a tone setter, a player whose physical approach generates energy for the rest of the team. Shanahan said Greenlaw is “as good as anyone I've been around” when it comes to playing the enforcer role and is “the most physical hitter in San Francisco.”
However, this style has also resulted in costly sanctions. Since Greenlaw entered the league in 2019, he has been flagged for seven unnecessary roughness penalties and four 15-yard facemask infractions, both tied for the most in the NFL (including playoffs).
For his part, Greenlaw says he constantly tries to walk a “fine line” between being aggressive and not facing costly sanctions, but he doesn't try to intentionally hurt anyone.
“I’m not a dirty player,” Greenlaw said. “I follow the rules. I mean, just because you're a little physical doesn't mean you're a dirty player.”
In January's NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia, Greenlaw received an unnecessary roughness penalty for a hit on running back Kenneth Gainwell and an infraction for grabbing the facemask of running back Boston Scott. Greenlaw was also ejected from a game last year for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
But Greenlaw's fast, physical approach also resonates with his teammates, who point out that many of the penalties called against him often happen so quickly that they can be difficult to avoid.
And despite what happened Sunday, no one in San Francisco is asking Greenlaw to change the way he plays.
“I know exactly what he’s going to bring every time he’s out there,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “An enforcer, a tone setter who delivers those hits and flies to the football on every play, and you need that.”
