ENGLEWOOD, Colo. –- The 49ers will not rush to judgment on their top remaining pass rusher, general manager Trent Baalke said Thursday morning.
The 49ers sent outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks back to the Bay Area on Thursday morning with Keena Turner, the team's vice president of football affairs after the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office announced he was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor sexual battery.
Brooks will not take part in the 49ers’ exhibition game Saturday night against the Denver Broncos. And his future with the team remains in question, and the 49ers have not placed a timeframe on a decision regarding his status.
[MAIOCCO: Analysis: 49ers have not closed door on Brooks, yet]
“Ahmad is still a member of this team,” 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said Thursday morning during an interview with Bay Area reporters at the Broncos practice facility.
"We excused him from team activities to get on top of this ... Obviously, when you're in a situation like this, it's important that you get back to your family. It's also important for him to start taking care of business on his end. And it's our job to stay focused here on what we need to stay focused on."
The incident in question occurred on Dec. 15 at the home of former 49ers player Ray McDonald. The 49ers have known about Brooks' alleged involvement since May, when he was named in a civil lawsuit.
"The one thing that we have to realize is this is not a new matter," Baalke said. "This is a new development within that matter. Our players are well aware of the consequence that go along with their actions and are supportive of it. But they also understand that every situation is different."
The 49ers are in communication with the NFL office in the matter concerning Brooks. As part of the policy on personal conduct, the league takes the lead in the process of gathering information.
Baalke said no decision has been made if Brooks will continue to be a member of the organization for the long term, and no decision has been made when or if he might rejoin the 49ers.
“No decision has been made at this point in time,” Baalke said. “Obviously, this is a new development and we don’t have enough information to make that type of decision in this point in time.”
In the lawsuit filed by the alleged victim in May claimed surveillance video at McDonald’s house showed, “While she was unconscious from a subsequent fall, Brooks groped her person in a sexual manner."
Brooks took part in all team activities in the eight months since the alleged incident because he was neither arrested nor charged with a crime, Baalke said. The 49ers met with Brooks after the allegation in the suit surfaced and he became active in the organization’s player engagement program, Baalke confirmed.
“And we put a plan in place for Ahmad, and that plan was overseen by our player engagement staff – I’m not going to get into the specifics of that plan – but there were a lot of things that Ahmad was asked to do within that plan,” Baalke said. “And he has met and exceeded all of those requirements.”
Baalke said the 49ers have tripled their staffing and financial resources in their player engagement program since the organization has experienced numerous off-the-field issues with former players such as Aldon Smith and McDonald.
