49ers’ George Kittle Calls Teammate ‘Selfish’ for Quitting During Game

A disappointing season for the San Francisco 49ers has gone from bad to worse. 

During the team’s crucial divisional showdown against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, December 12, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell was told to enter the game in the third quarter. 

However, Campbell, 31, refused to take the field. 

In the fourth quarter, Campbell — currently in his ninth NFL season and first with the 49ers — was seen leaving the field with a towel 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 decimated by injuries all season, had planned to insert Campbell into the game in place of the injured Dre Greenlaw, who left the game with knee soreness. Greenlaw, 27, was making his first appearance since injuring his Achilles on the sidelines 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.