The 49ers’ Dre Greenlaw says Dom DiSandro reached out after sideline scuffle
Dre Greenlaw and Kyle Shanahan have "no hard feelings" toward Eagles chief security officer Dom DiSandro, but they still feel Greenlaw's ejection was a mistake.
Chief security officer Dom DiSandro became the talk of Philadelphia after he was ejected from Sunday’s 42-19 Eagles loss to the 49ers for an altercation with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who also was ejected from the game.
The incident still is under review from the NFL, but Greenlaw said Wednesday that he and DiSandro had connected through intermediaries and all was well.
“He seemed like a genuine guy,” Greenlaw told reporters. “He seemed like a guy everyone loved in the building. So I hate that it even escalated and went to that.”
Greenlaw slammed Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith to the ground and received a penalty in the third quarter. DiSandro stepped in and put his hands on Greenlaw, and Greenlaw appeared to throw a punch at DiSandro, leading to both parties getting ejected.
The NFL sent out a memo Wednesday to all teams reminding them that nonplayer personnel are prohibited from “making unnecessary physical contact with or directing abusive, threatening, or insulting language or gestures at opponents, game officials, or representatives of the league.”
Greenlaw said he had not heard from the league, but he felt he was unfairly ejected.
“I feel like I shouldn’t have been ejected,” Greenlaw said. “But I can’t go back and do anything about it now.”
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Niners coach Kyle Shanahan reaffirmed his belief that Greenlaw should not have been ejected for the play, but also expressed Monday that he had “no hard feelings” toward DiSandro for the incident and knows a number of people who speak highly of him.
“I was shocked,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “I stick up for [Greenlaw] that he was put in a situation from somebody that didn’t have to do with the game. That’s what bothered me. When I look at him, I still don’t think he punched him in the face, but whatever that was, it’s not allowed. And you can’t give anyone a doubt, especially in a physical game like that.”
Shanahan also pushed back on the idea that Greenlaw was a dirty player after the questionable tackle on Smith that incited the incident.
“Dre is not a dirty player at all,” Shanahan said. “He plays one way, and that’s why he was so frustrated because he is trying so hard not to break the rules. In his mind, he wasn’t completely slamming a guy. His guy’s 3 yards inbounds, and he’s trying his hardest to get him down. And everything he does is physical. And if you can see at the end, he tried to let up at the last second. It happened to be it was a lighter player, and Dre’s pretty strong. Now, he should have been penalized for that. You can’t slam a guy.”