Originally Posted by
Associated Press
Off-colour 49ers video causes a stir
Associated Press
6/1/2005 4:41:21 PM
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A video meant to prepare San Francisco 49ers players for dealing with the media features off-colour humour - including racial jokes and nudity - and has outraged team ownership and the city's mayor.
The video, sent anonymously to the paper, also featured racial jokes, lesbian soft-porn and topless women.
Reynolds said he made the in-house video to coach players on handling media questions in diverse San Francisco - and never meant it for public consumption.
The video was shown to players last August during training camp in Santa Clara where it was part of a diversity workshop.
In a statement Wednesday, the Yorks called it offensive, inexcusable and "absolutely contradictory to the ideals and values of the San Francisco 49ers."
"Ostensibly, the video was created to raise player awareness about how to deal with the media and to demonstrate by example how poor conduct can unintentionally make news," the statement said. "Unfortunately, this video is an example in itself."
Reynolds opens the film sitting behind the mayor's desk, then goes to Chinatown, where a 49ers trainer uses racial slurs about the Chinese community. The next scene, in a strip club, shows a topless, lesbian wedding officiated by Reynolds, again impersonating the mayor.
"You do something controversial, you say something controversial, it will have an impact on this team. So remember, be mindful of your actions," Reynolds says later, wearing only a towel before joining three topless women for a group hug. "What you do is not only a reflection of yourself. It's a reflection of the San Francisco 49ers."
Newsom was not amused.
"It wasn't right to do it to the Asian community, particularly the Chinese community. It was wrong to do it to the gay and lesbian community. It was wrong to exploit women as they were exploited in this video," the mayor told Fox-affiliate KTVU on Wednesday. "The video is reprehensible."
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