The San Francisco 49ers were losing badly through 30 minutes of play on Sunday against the Seahawks. And interim coach Mike Singletary pulled no punches during his first halftime speech -- but he did pull down his pants.

I used my pants to illustrate that we were getting our tails whipped on Sunday and how humiliating that should feel for all of us. I needed to do something to dramatize my point; there were other ways I could have done it but I think this got the message across.

-- Mike Singletary

A team spokesman Thursday confirmed a report by Arizona radio station XTRA's Mike Jurecki that Singletary dropped his pants in front of his team at halftime.

"He was just dramatizing how embarrassing it was," 49ers director of public relations Aaron Salkin said.

The halftime talk went something along the lines of "We're getting our tails whipped out there, now let's get back out there," according to Salkin.

Singletary is not available to the media until Monday, but he did issue this statement: "I used my pants to illustrate that we were getting our tails whipped on Sunday and how humiliating that should feel for all of us. I needed to do something to dramatize my point; there were other ways I could have done it but I think this got the message across. I am excited about having the team back at practice on Monday so we can get back to work."

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When asked if Singletary is embarrassed by the incident, Salkin said, "There are other ways he could've done it. He knows that."

Singletary was wearing boxers.

And the animated halftime talk didn't seem to work so well. The 49ers trailed 20-3 at halftime, and lost 34-13.