49ers Links

Golden Nuggets: Enough is Enough

Monday, April 14, 2014 edition of the Golden Nuggets, a daily compilation of 49ers links from around the web.

By Joel V. Reyes Apr 14, 2014, 2:13am PDT

I officially miss the quiet and boring start to the 49ers off-season.

We are now buried under an avalanche of off-the-field incidents that seems like they are snow-balling and it needs to stop. Now.

I fully understand that each situation is different from each other and each player should be dealt with on a case-to-case basis. The effects though upon the image of the team is cumulative and that is how the team needs to deal with it also. Each thing that happens after a previous negative occurrence becomes more grievous in nature, even if it is not necessarily worse. The reason for that is that people have not forgotten yet what happened before and here comes another player, dumping on top of it.

I also understand that these are young men and young men do make mistakes, and most everyone is deserving of second, third or even fourth chances. But what these athletes need to realize is that eventually, they have got to stop acting like idiots. Who they once were and how they chose to express that is no longer acceptable, because they have chosen to be part of an organization and a sport that demands more from them. They need to realize that as public figures, their lives are under a microscope. It is the flip-side of fame.

I also know, that by rule, the NFL restricts the kind of contact that the team can have with their players during the off-season and so the coaches and the GM cannot be as pro-active in leading these players once the season is over. What needs to happen though is that players have got to start policing their own. The first step is for each one to police himself. The second is that the team's veteran players have got to come down on these incidents, and let these younger guys know what kind of behavior is expected of them on and off the field. I'm calling on Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Justin Smith, Frank Gore and even Anquan Boldin to make their presence felt.

I do not believe that this team is breaking apart at all, but this series of events is just another storm that they are going to have to get together and overcome as a team. That has to start now. Enough is enough.

The 49ers' parade of legal problems: If they don't stop this soon, it'll make a mockery of who they think and say they are (Kawakami)

Thompson: 49ers rivaling Kardashians for bad attention (SJMN)