York's arrest has 'no effect' on team, says 49ers coach Shanahan

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Two days after San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York's arrest in Ohio, coach Kyle Shanahan and linebacker Fred Warner said Tuesday that York's situation has little to no impact on what the team is trying to accomplish on the field.

Shanahan said he spoke with York, who pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and possession of a criminal tool after attempting to engage in prostitution, multiple times over the past couple of days. Shanahan called it a "very, very personal situation" but said York's situation doesn't change his perspective of how things will work moving forward.

"My view is, as the coach, does it have effect on us as a team?" Shanahan said. "From a football standpoint, it has no effect on us. I mean, as far as what we do day to day, what we talk about and [it] hasn't been mentioned in a meeting today, it doesn't have to do with what happens on the field."

That's a sentiment Warner echoed when asked how the locker room absorbed the news about York on Monday and Tuesday. "We're all aware," Warner said. "It really wasn't a conversation being had in the locker room. Of course, yeah, you noticed it, but at the same time we're so hyper focused in this building of trying to prepare for week one. A lot of guys are on the bubble trying to make the team. So, we're just trying to get better as a football team and that's a personal situation, let it stay personal with him."

According to Shanahan, York has been away from the team and back home in the Ohio area where he grew up for most of this training camp. York filed for divorce from his wife, Danielle, in May, according to documents filed in Santa Clara County (California) Superior Court.

In York's absence, Shanahan said not much has been different. When York hired Shanahan and general manager John Lynch in 2017, he empowered them to make the football decisions. And while York knows before any big move the Niners make, Shanahan said that process has remained in place.

"It's the same as always," Shanahan said. "Jed has been as good as it gets since I've been here on letting the football people make football decisions. Jed always wants to be informed and a part of things, but Jed has been exactly what he said he would be on letting us make those decisions. And he always wants to know about them and stuff and whether he's here in the building or a text away or on a phone call, that doesn't change anything."

While Shanahan said he didn't feel the need to address York's situation with the team in a meeting today, he did acknowledge the need to tell his team to be "smart" and "not make yourself a part" of the story when situations like York's arise.

Asked whether the drama -- receiver Brandon Aiyuk's ongoing absence, Shanahan's car accident and now York's arrest -- that has surrounded the Niners this offseason have made this a more-difficult-than-usual summer, Warner demurred.

"If I'm being so honest about it, training camp is a beast in itself when it comes to just football and preparing yourself for what a 17-game season entails," Warner said. "Here in this building, it truly is all about football and trying to make sure we have the best product on the field for everybody, for ourselves and for everyone that's counting on us. That truly hasn't really been a thought in my mind or the rest of the team."