Plummer says 49ers cited racy interview in firing

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April 13, 2011MAIOCCO ARCHIVE49ERS PAGE49ERS VIDEOMatt MaioccoCSNBayArea.comGary Plummer believes his direct talk about the 49ers got him into trouble with the organization. But he was not fired as the 49ers' radio analyst until the team learned of his candid and explicit interview about sex."They had come to me four times during the season to ask me to go easier on them -- that was I was being too harsh on the team," Plummer told CSN Bay Area on Wednesday. "So I don't think I would've been with the team past 2011 anyway."Plummer was fired with one year remaining on his contract and he said the club cited his racy interview on "Lady Brain," a podcast and radio program that covers relationships, sex and body issues.
Plummer said he spoke with co-hosts Stephanie Walton and Lauren Schiller for 1 hour, 40 minutes for a podcast that went out after the Super Bowl. Excerpts from the interview later aired on KSJO 92.3-FM. "Lady Brain" bills itself as "The most candid show on the radio."And Plummer, 51, did not hold back.He spoke in graphic detail about his marital advice to his brother and his own divorce. Plummer, who played for the 49ers from 1994 to '97, recounted how some 49ers teammates got team employees to get phone numbers of female fans during games. He told of how one teammate had a sexual encounter after one road game behind a team bus while his family members were nearby.After Deadspin.com on Tuesday posted a nine-minute excerpt from Plummer's interview, the 49ers declined to get into specifics of why Plummer was fired.Bob Sargent, the 49ers' director of broadcasting, told CSN Bay Area on Monday the change was made in the booth because new analyst Eric Davis is "a better fit.""The 49ers thank Gary for his services to the organization as a player and as a broadcaster," spokesman Bob Lange said. "We wish him all the best."The sides are believed to be in the process of negotiating a settlement. Meanwhile, Plummer expects to be broadcasting college games this fall."For me, I grew up in the Bay Area, loved the 49ers -- always have, always will," Plummer said. "But this is a different ownership group than the one we all grew up with. And it's their right to do what they want with their team."But I do consider it to be the fans' game. And they do deserve honesty and the truth. And I know I did that for them."

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