De’Vondre Campbell refuses to attend San Francisco 49ers game

The San Francisco 49ers lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 12-6, on Dec. 12, but it’s what happened on the sidelines that has people talking.

Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell was called upon to replace an injured Dre Greenlaw in the third quarter of the game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., but refused to go on the field and went into the locker room.

“He said he didn’t want to play today,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said in his postgame press briefing. He added that he has never experienced a moment when a player said he didn’t want to play.

Greenlaw had played in his first game this season after injuring his Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl in February and appeared to be injured again, prompting Campbell to make the call. Shanahan was also asked if the team plans to release him.

“We’ll figure something out, but I don’t know right now,” he said, before adding that Campbell did not give a reason why he would not enter the game.

Shanahan, who has taken the 49ers to a pair of Super Bowl appearances, also said Campbell’s actions were hard to miss.

“People noticed it, but when someone says it, you move on. You don’t deal with that anymore,” he said.

Campbell, 31, did not play any snaps before the incident. He is in his ninth season in the NFL after being selected out of the University of Minnesota in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, where he spent the first four years of his career. He has also played with the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.

He is in his first season with the 49ers after starting 12 games. His 79 tackles coming into the Rams game are the second most on the team this year.

Shanahan said he’s not worried about other players on the team losing their focus.

“It’s someone who doesn’t want to play football,” he said. “It’s pretty simple. I think our team and myself, we know how we feel about it, so I don’t think we need to talk about him anymore.”

Campbell’s teammates were a little more subdued in their reactions.

“Look, if you’re on the roster and you suit up, you’re expected to play,” star tight end George Kittle said.

“I think anyone in this building who was asked to walk in would say 100% of everyone would die to get on that football field. People go through random things off the field, I can’t whatever his decision was, it wasn’t for this organization, it wasn’t for this team, and it’s up to him. I’m not very happy about it.”

“It’s one person making a … selfish decision,” he added. “I’ve never been with anyone who has ever done that, and I hope I’m never around anyone who does again.”

Cornerback Charvarius Ward was also surprised by Campbell’s actions, especially in light of the fact that other players were injured.

“I mean, he’s a professional,” he said. “He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed up. He could have told (them) that before the game. So I feel like there was something wrong that he did, for sure hurt the team because Dee (Winters) went down and we needed a linebacker. … It’s a no-brainer in my opinion. Probably going to be cut soon, so that’s what it is. “

The loss to the Rams dropped the 49ers to 6-8 on the season, putting them in last place in the NFC West and severely hampering their chances of making the playoffs.