Dr. York –

 

Can you hear what everyone is saying, or are you to egotistical to even understand that you have taken a once proud franchise and driven it into the ground.  You are the problem.  You are the problem for people within the organization, you are the problem for people outside the organization, and you are even the problem for your fellow owners.

 

Take for instance the San Jose Mercury News article on October 18, 2004.

 

“Bill Walsh's legacy has evaporated, Joe Montana is a faint memory, and Steve Young is known more for his failed bid to buy the team from the Yorks than anything else he might have done wearing the 49ers uniform.”

 

“York repeated again Sunday that he has no intention of selling the team, despite wishes and reports to the contrary.”

 

“The 49ers' future is tied to either getting a new owner or a new stadium or both.”

 

“Would you build a new stadium for this man? Or would you rather wait for a new owner (say, Carmen Policy) with a new approach, more personal credibility and a more liberal checkbook?”

 

These are not isolated remarks, the same sentiments can be heard all across the NFL landscape.

 

Charles Robinson writes:

 

The San Francisco 49ers – specifically co-owner John York and general manager Terry Donahue – blew it. Not once, but twice. Not that most people didn't see this failure coming. Many scratched their heads when (Steve) Mariucci was cut loose by the franchise in an ugly, bumbled fashion almost 22 months ago, a quizzical move that drew outright scoffing once his perch was awarded to NFL retread Dennis Erickson. But only now can we see the full scope of the damage done during the 2003 offseason, when Mariucci was sent packing and (Jim) Mora was passed over in favor of Erickson.

 

…almost one-third ($28 million) of their 2004 salary cap belongs to players no longer with the team – largely thanks to past decisions made by Donahue.

 

Internally you have poisoned this franchise:

 

"The personality of the organization and the people running it have definitely gone south," a prominent former 49er said. "I'd say since John York [took over]."

 

What about the words of NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka:

 

"You look at a team that was a great organization and a great team like the 49ers, and look what they've done with ownership and management," former NFL coach Mike Ditka told the Los Angeles Times last week. "They've destroyed that organization. When Eddie had it, they were the best. You know why? The most important thing to Eddie was treating the players like family. Now, this guy (York) … Knows nothing about football. Knows nothing about management, either. But he married Eddie's sister."

 

Even the good ol’ boys won’t back you up:

 

Some NFL owners are concerned about the decline of the 49ers -- both on the field and in fan interest -- under the stewardship of owners Denise DeBartolo York and her husband, John York.

 

Owners of other teams, speaking on condition of anonymity, bemoaned the 49ers' troubles on the field, and one said "the whole league" wished they would be sold to a new owner. The 49ers' old stadium and their declining attendance are of serious concern.

 

 – San Francisco Chronicle, 10/16/04

 

The Commissioner has doubts about you:

 

Another source familiar with the meeting raised the San Francisco issue. "Don't ever think that perhaps part of the commissioner's interest in coming to dinner (with Ellison) wasn't ultimately directed towards the North, as opposed to the South (of California)," the source said.

 

Are you starting to see the light yet:

 

One influential team owner said of the 49ers, "I wish they'd be a better team (because) that's an important market for us." The owner of another team said "there is no chance" the Yorks would get a new stadium, said he hoped they would sell the 49ers and said "the whole league would give a collective sigh of relief if that happens."

 

"There is no chance they're going to get it done, and she's got to wake up and say, 'We're selling the team -- we're taking our money and going home,' " the second owner said. "Quite frankly, I don't know where her head is at, because other than the fact her husband is enjoying himself and the notoriety of running a football team, everybody's calling him an idiot in the meantime."

 

-- San Francisco Chronicle

 

You have become comic relief for writers looking to have fun at your expense, including Mike Silver of Sports Illustrated:

 

I grieved for the 49ers' fans, as their franchise has been hijacked by a pair of owners whose motto seems to be, "We might have a shaky offensive line, but did you see how much we saved on our bottom line?"

 

Bottled water was banished from the facility, and one player had 37 cents deducted from his paycheck for having mailed a letter at company expense. It's an oversimplification to say that the Yorks' cost-consciousness was responsible for the team's decline, but the accompanying salary-cap cleanup of the previous regime's excesses only reinforced that perception.

 

Allow me to excerpt a few sentences from the Pro Football Hall of Fame website pertaining to the 49ers:

 

A bright new era dawned for the 49ers on March 31, 1977, when Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. became the new team owner. He dedicated himself to transforming a team that never won a league championship into a pro football power. In 1979, DeBartolo selected Bill Walsh, renowned as an offensive specialist, as the 49ers head coach. It took Walsh just three seasons to bring San Francisco its first-ever league championship with a 26-21 win over Cincinnati in Super Bowl XVI.

 

San Francisco also won the NFC West in 1983 and did even better in 1984 with 18 wins in 19 games and a 38-16 Super Bowl XIX victory over the Miami Dolphins. Walsh concluded his pro coaching career after a last-second 20-16 victory over Cincinnati in Super Bowl XXIII. In 10 years, Walsh compiled a 102-62-1 record and won six NFC West titles and three Super Bowls.

 

You have failed.  Your 3 pronged approach -- win football games, be good business partners, and be good community partners -- seems to be falling short in one area.  Any guess as to which one it is?

 

Each week you are vilified for your leadership of the team.  It is time for you to go.  For the sake of the 49ers, and all the fans, you must go.  You must sell the team.  You are a Youngstown businessman in a world you have no idea how to handle.  It is simpler to admit defeat then to drag this once proud franchise and all its fans through this horrific situation.  A situation that has only one positive outcome, a divorce between you and the team.

 

Toby Michaels