Kyle Shanahan fielded plenty of questions about receiver Ricky Pearsall on Thursday, but the 49ers coach did not appreciate one of them.
The rookie was shot in the chest during an armed robbery attempt in San Francisco’s Union Square on Saturday.
Shanahan was hosting the team’s annual pre-kickoff celebration at the time, while general manager John Lynch went to the hospital to be with Pearsall.
“When you first got the news about Ricky, and you were waiting to find out the severity, did part of you want to drop everything and rush to the hospital with John and be there with him?” Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn asked at Thursday’s press conference.
“Yeah, obviously,” Shanahan retorted. “But I’m in charge of our team too. And I don’t do that stuff just so you won’t say something negative about me. I try to make the right decision for the people I’m responsible for. I had 100 people about to show up to my house an hour and a half from there. I try to do things for the right reason — the people that know me never would question that. I would never do something just to avoid people saying bad things.”
Shanahan’s decision to stay at the party allowed him to update the rest of his team more efficiently.
“No one knew the exact story, so I was able to reassure everybody as soon as they got there that he was totally fine and it was a miracle,” Shanahan said. “I think where he got shot is like two inches below his tattoo with praying hands. The whole story is kind of amazing… You can’t call a whole team, but to tell everyone right when they got there, it was really cool. Then, about two hours later, Ricky got on and talked to everybody.”
Pearsall, the 49ers’ first-round pick in June’s draft, was released from the hospital on Sunday, a day after a 17-year-old shot him while trying to steal his Rolex.
The wideout fought back however, with the assailant being shot in the scuffle.
The teen, a high school senior, expressed remorse for his actions during his arraignment on charges of attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and attempted robbery on Wednesday.
Pearsall, 23, was back with his teammates on Monday, though he’ll open the season on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list and is sidelined for at least the first four weeks — though the team is confident he’ll play this season.
The 49ers’ plan is to ease him back into workouts with a week of “not working up a sweat” before beginning a rehab process — despite Pearsall telling his coach, “I still think I can play versus the Jets.”
“He loves being around,” Shanahan said. “It’s all up to him with that stuff, but everyone is trying to give him space in that way and let him work through this process because the physical thing is one thing, but it’s a pretty big mental toll on someone too.”
