A disappointing season for the San Francisco 49ers has gone from bad to worse.
During a crucial match against the Los Angeles Rams, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell was called to join the game in the third quarter.
However, Campbell, 31, refused to take the field.
Later, in the fourth quarter, Campbell, playing his first season with the 49ers after nine years in the NFL, was spotted leaving the field with a towel draped over his head.
“He said he didn’t want to play today,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after the game.
The 49ers, who have been dealing with numerous injuries throughout the season, had intended to substitute Campbell for the injured Dre Greenlaw, who exited the game due to knee discomfort. Greenlaw, aged 27, had just returned to play following an Achilles injury he suffered at the Super Bowl in February.
That 49ers plan evidently did not sit well with Campbell, whose teammates ripped into him in the locker room post-game.
“I’m a leader on the team, and if that is something that is being a distraction on the sideline, I would’ve loved to voice my own opinion in the moment,” 49ers tight end George Kittle told reporters. “We’re past that moment. So, it doesn’t matter what I wish I could have said or wish I could have done, but I don’t like distractions on the sideline. I think that’s ignorant. I think it’s just dumb. It’s just stupid, and it’s very immature. I just don’t see how you could do something like that to your team.”
Kittle, 31, added, “It’s one person making a selfish decision. I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that, and I hope I’m never around anybody who does that again.”
The blunt sentiment shared by Kittle was shared by 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward.
“He’s a professional,” Ward, 28, told reporters. “He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed out. He could have told them that before the game. I feel like that was some sucka s— that he did. It definitely hurt the team.”
Ward added, “He’s probably going to get cut soon, so it is what it is with that.”
The 49ers did not immediately announce any disciplinary action for Campbell. When Shanahan, 44, was asked whether Campbell would be released, he said, “We’ll figure out something.”
San Francisco lost 12-6 to Los Angeles, effectively killing their hopes of making the playoffs just one season removed from going to overtime in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
