49ers owner York: 'It's hard to disagree' with what players are fighting for

Tuesday is a great day in the career of Jed York. In fact, it's one of the best.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell met with a group of 11 owners and 13 players Tuesday in search of a "common ground" regarding peaceful protests, a group that included the San Francisco 49ers owner. York called the day "one of the proudest" he's had as an NFL owner, and credited former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for sparking the discussion for change, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

"(Kaep's) message has been lost. ... (the) more you sit with players and hear what they're fighting for, it's hard to disagree with them," York said following the meeting, according to Rapoport.

"If we don't care about the causes that make them tick, then what are we about?" York added, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

Goodell confirmed during Tuesday's meeting that the league did not put forth any request for players to stand during the national anthem.

"We did not ask for that. No. We spent today talking about the issues that our players have been trying to bring attention to, about issues in our communities to make our communities better," Goodell told Sal Paolantonio of ESPN.

Related: NFL, NFLPA promise to meet again after 4-hour anthem discussion

Both the NFL and NFLPA released a joint statement Tuesday following a near four-hour meeting, stating that the group "had a productive meeting focused on how we can work together to promote positive change and address inequality in our communities."