The San Francisco 49ers have suspended broadcaster Tim Ryan for one game after saying on the radio Monday that Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has an advantage in faking handoffs because of his skin color.
“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,” said Ryan.
The comments were made during Ryan’s weekly segment on local radio station KNBR’s “Murph and Mac” morning radio show when discussing Jackson’s exceptional performance last weekend against the Niners.
Jackson
rushed for more than 100 yards in the Ravens’ 20-17 win, many of which came after successfully faking handoffs and running the ball himself. Lamar has rushed for 970 yards and thrown for 25 touchdowns for his MVP campaign this season.
Ryan’s statement read, “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.”