General Manager Terry Donahue tried to distance the 49ers from recent anti-gay remarks by Garrison Hearst, describing the running back's comments as insensitive and inappropriate.

``I don't think it's reflective of the attitude of the organization,'' Donahue said Thursday. ``In this kind of environment, you're trying to survive and win each week and trying to get by, and we don't need to become embroiled in a social issue. It's unfortunate those comments were made and it was insensitive, but I think we just have to go on.''

The controversy arose from comments Hearst made in an interview with the Fresno Bee after the 49ers' game against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 27. In conjunction with a column about former NFL player Esera Tuaolo's decision to reveal his sexual orientation, Hearst was asked if gay players would be accepted by their teammates.

``Aww, hell no! I don't want any . . . on my team,'' Hearst replied, using a slur to refer to homosexuals. ``I know this might not be what people want to hear, but that's a punk. I don't want any . . . in this locker room.''

The 49ers didn't hear about Hearst's remarks until Thursday. Prompted by an out-of-town reporter who saw the Bee story, Bay Area media members began asking about the comments.

On Thursday, Hearst was asked if he had any regrets about the remark. While stopping short of an apology, he said, ``If I hurt somebody's feelings, I hate that I did it because I hate to be rude. But I mean, the comment was made.''

Coach Steve Mariucci shied away from offering any opinion on gays in professional sports as well as the ramifications of Hearst's comments and how they would be received in the Bay Area.

But he said he knew Tuaolo, a nine-year NFL veteran who played in Green Bay while Mariucci worked there as an assistant.

``He was a heck of a guy and a heck of a player,'' Mariucci said.

Asked if he would accept having a homosexual teammate, defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield said: ``It'd depend how he came out, if he approached the team and he was honest and he wasn't touchy-feely. But I don't think a guy would ever come out while he was playing.''

Linebacker Julian Peterson said an openly gay player could pose problems in the locker room.

``It's kind of a sensitive area when you think about men in this locker-room environment, because we're walking around naked and there's pretty much nothing to it,'' Peterson said. ``But if you feel like somebody has gay tendencies and it's like, `Oh, he could be checking me out,' you could take offense to that.''

Peterson said a gay player would be best off following a policy similar to the military's ``Don't ask; don't tell.''

``Just don't mention it,'' he said. ``I don't think it should be public like that in the locker room. I think the majority of the men in here are definitely straight and I think that would be a distraction toward the team.''

This wasn't the first time this season an NFL player caused a stir with his remarks about gays.

New York Giants rookie Jeremy Shockey apologized after he said in a Sept. 10 appearance on Howard Stern's radio show that he ``probably wouldn't, you know, stand for it,'' if he thought there had been any gay teammates while he was playing for the University of Miami.