The San Francisco 49ers have suspended announcer Tim Ryan following comments Ryan made about Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Ryan said that Jackson had a distinct advantage on play-fakes because of his “dark skin with a dark football.”
The full quote:
“He’s really good at that fake, Lamar Jackson, but when you consider his dark skin with a dark football with a dark uniform, you could not see that thing. 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.”
That’s bad. He’s disguising racist rhetoric in football wonkery, but it’s there, and not hard to see.
What’s just as concerning to me is his apology for it.
In a statement, Ryan wrote:
“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.”
First, he’s evasive. He’s sorry for “trying to describe the conditions of the game,” not for saying Jackson’s “dark skin” gives him an advantage.
Next, he points to Jackson as an “MVP-caliber player.” Which begs the question: If Jackson weren’t an MVP-caliber player, would Ryan still need to apologize? What does his level of play have to do with what Ryan said.
Finally, he ends with the classic I’m sorry to anyone I offended, i.e. it’s your fault you got upset about this.
Ryan’s original comments and apology reflect a really dangerous line of thinking that exists in many sports pundits, and especially in NFL pundits — this idea that when talking about The Game, the rest of the world ceases to matter.
Ryan wasn’t making inappopriate comments, see. He was trying to describe the conditions of the game. The game is all that matters. Skin color doesn’t mean anything on a football field, to Ryan, unless it’s the color of the football.
To do this is opaque and ridiculous. You can’t separate the football field from real life. You can’t pretend that comments made have no repercussions if you are talking about a sport.
Even in his apology, it’s all framed in the context of football. Ryan refuses to see the world any differently. Jackson deserves an apology because he’s an MVP-caliber player and has earned Ryan’s respect … not because he’s a human being.
This is tone deaf and represents a childish, stubborn way of viewing the world. It’s the same line of thinking of people who scream that they don’t want politics in football. They want an escape. They view football as their only outlet from having to think, from having to empathize, from having to understand the world we live in.
Ryan’s comments and apology shows he hasn’t learned anything. He’s just gotten upset that the real world has impinged on the football world he so cherishes.
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