49ers Suspend Tim Ryan Over Comments About Lamar Jackson

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, December 5, 2019

Tim Ryan

The San Francisco 49ers have suspended radio commentator Tim Ryan for comments he made last Monday about Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, reports Yahoo Sports. After calling the 49ers' loss to the Ravens on Sunday, Ryan was asked in a radio appearance about what makes Jackson so hard to stop. He reportedly said that Jackson was good at at faking handoffs because of his "dark skin with a dark football."

"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," said the 49ers in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. "We know Tim as a man of high integrity and are confident he will grow and learn from this experience."

In a statement Ryan said, "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."

52-year-old Ryan was a linebacker for the Chicago Bears from 1990 to 1993 and spent 11 years calling games on FOX TV before becoming the 49ers' radio commentator in 2014.