49ers suspend radio commentator Tim Ryan for ‘dark skin’ comment about Lamar Jackson
The San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday confirmed radio commentator Tim Ryan has been suspended for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints for inappropriate comments about Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Ryan’s comments this week came during a radio hit on KNBR radio in the Bay Area, the team’s flagship station, when talking about Jackson’s ability to run the zone read. The suspension was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
“He’s really good at that fake, Lamar Jackson, but when you consider his dark skin color with a dark football with a dark uniform, you could not see that thing,” said Ryan, according to the report. “I mean you literally could not see when he was in and out of the mesh point and if you’re a half step slow on him in terms of your vision forget about it, he’s out of the gate.”
Ryan, 52, was a defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears from 1990 to 1993. He spent 11 seasons as a television analyst for FOX before he joined the 49ers radio booth in 2014.
The team said it apologized to the Ravens organization to “assure them the matter is not being taken lightly.”
Ryan issued an apology through a team spokesperson: “I regret my choice of words in trying to describe the conditions of the game. Lamar Jackson is an MVP-caliber player and I respect him greatly. I want to sincerely apologize to him and anyone else I offended.”
Jackson is the front-runner for the NFL’s MVP Award as the catalyst for Baltimore’s stellar season. He’s on pace to break Michael Vick’s all-time rushing record for quarterbacks and became the first signal caller in league history to have four 100-yard running games in a season as he ran for 101 yards on 16 carries against in the 20-17 victory over San Francisco.
The 49ers issue a statement: “We are disappointed in Tim Ryan’s comments earlier this week, and have suspended him for the upcoming game. We hold Tim to a high standard as a representative of our organization and he must be more thoughtful with his words. Tim has expressed remorse in a public statement and has also done so with us privately. We know Tim as a man of high integrity and are confident he will grow and learn from this experience.”
The 49ers said they plan on having a replacement for Ryan on Sunday but are waiting for those plans to be finalized before making an announcement.
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 4:59 PM.
