Radio Analyst's Take on NFL QB Earns Him Suspension

Tim Ryan said 'dark skin' of Ravens QB Lamar Jackson helped him pull off plays in 49ers game
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 5, 2019 7:16 AM CST
Radio Analyst's Take on NFL QB Earns Him Suspension
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson throws against the San Francisco 49ers in the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday in Baltimore, Md.   (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

If you were listening Monday morning to a radio breakdown of Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, a comment from one analyst about the Ravens quarterback may have had you wondering: Did he just say that? That was the reaction of the 49ers, who suspended Tim Ryan after his remarks on the impressive game play of Lamar Jackson, who led Baltimore to a 20-17 win with moves that included fake handoffs, ESPN reports. "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," Ryan said on the Murph & Mac show on KNBR. "I mean you literally could not see when he was in and out of the mesh point."

Ryan will now not be calling the game between the 49s and the New Orleans Saints this Sunday. "We are disappointed in Tim Ryan's comments earlier this week," a 49ers statement reads. "We hold Tim to a high standard as a representative of our organization and he must be more thoughtful with his words." The statement also said Ryan, a "man of high integrity," had expressed "remorse" both publicly and privately and that they hoped he'd "learn from this experience." Ryan—who Fox News notes played for the Chicago Bears in the early '90s before becoming a Fox NFL analyst, then a part of the 49ers organization as a radio commentator—has issued an apology. "I regret my choice of words in trying to describe the conditions of the game," he said in a statement. "Lamar Jackson is an MVP-caliber player and I respect him greatly." (More San Francisco 49ers stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X