Morning Report: Mike McGlinchey Surprises Families Impacted by COVID-19, Special Interview with Katie Sowers, 49ers Sixth-round Pick Charlie Woerner Ties the Knot

Good Morning Faithful

Here are your top 49ers storylines for Thursday, July 2.

Mike McGlinchey Delivers Gift Baskets to Families Affected by COVID-19 #IGYB

The 49ers and Visa teamed up to surprise families who have been directly impacted by COVID-19. Mike McGlinchey delivered gift baskets with 49ers gear and $1000 Visa gift cards to five families around the Bay Area.

A Conversation with 49ers Offensive Assistant Katie Sowers

Katie Sowers sat down for an exclusive interview after the 49ers PRIDE virtual event. Here are a few excerpts from the interview.

Katie, you've knocked down so many barriers in the last two years, what are your experiences coming out to the team? I'm sure a lot of folks already knew, but then taking it public is a whole other step. What was the locker room response?

My experiences have been completely positive. When the article about me being gay first came out I didn't know it was going to blow up into this thing about me being the first out gay coach in the NFL, but when players read that article I had so many of them come to me privately and say just how cool it was to see that. It really opened up a dialogue and even though they already knew, I think it became more personal. After that, I saw language change. Language that wasn't ever meant to hurt anyone but it was language that people had used in the past and I think having someone who they know is gay, they started to think about the things they said. It's so important to think about the language we use, it plays such a huge role in who we are and how we operate. I have seen so many positive things come from the players and the coaching staff I work with and I think after publicly coming out they became even closer as a second family to me.

How can coaches be better allies for their student-athletes and fellow coaches who are part of the LGBTQ+ community?

I think it starts with the language that we use. It's something that is so simple. It's more unconscious than we even know. Everyone is listening, everyone is picking up on those little things that people say and the way that you speak tells someone if they're safe or unsafe. I think the first step is to reflect on the way that you talk, the words that you use, but I would also emphasize to not treat people differently if you think that they might be gay, treat them the same. It's important that you make sure that you are making every single player on your team feel as if they are just as good as everyone else regardless of who they are, what race they are, what sexuality they are. We also have to know that we won't ever get to a point where we're perfect and I think that's the important thing to realize. We are constantly learning and evolving and the more that we reflect on the way that we act, the things that we say, the more we can better our players, our community and the people around us.

Read the full interview in the July WON Monthly Magazine.

Charlie Woerner Ties the Knot

Congratulations to Charlie Woerner and his now-wife Sydney who got married this week. Woerner appeared in 54 games in four years at Georgia. During his senior year, the tight end started all 14 games and was the co-recipient of the Frank Sinkwich Award, which is given to the toughest player on the team. Woerner was selected in the sixth round (190th overall) by the 49ers. The tight end is the final member of the 49ers draft class waiting to sign his rookie deal.