49ers Hid Kyle Shanahan Crash for 11 Days as ESPN Timed Report to Team Release
Updated
Updated · NBC Sports · Jul 26
49ers Hid Kyle Shanahan Crash for 11 Days as ESPN Timed Report to Team Release
3 articles · Updated · NBC Sports · Jul 26
Summary
July 14 was the date of Shanahan’s serious car crash, but the 49ers did not disclose it until the first day of training camp 11 days later; he suffered a severe concussion and other significant but non-life-threatening injuries.
12:00 p.m. ET marked the team statement, followed by Adam Schefter’s first post at 12:01 and ESPN’s story at 12:02, fueling questions over whether the outlet agreed to hold the news until the club went public.
ESPN’s report included details beyond the 49ers’ release — including that the other driver was unhurt, alcohol or drugs were not factors, and no citations were issued — suggesting reporting had been done before Saturday.
Tim Kawakami later said he knew only about 15% of the details, though he had hinted news was coming, underscoring the broader criticism that reporters sat on publicly available information rather than publish it.