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49ers suspend broadcaster over Lamar Jackson comments

Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sport

San Francisco 49ers broadcaster Tim Ryan made news for all the wrong reasons this past Monday.

The on-air radio personality talked about Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson having an advantage due to being a player with dark skin holding a dark football.

“He’s (Jackson) 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. “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.”

The comments came on the local radio station, KNBR, one day after San Francisco fell to Jackson and the Ravens in a hard fought game.

They also have not sat well with folks around the NFL. This now includes the 49ers, who have decided to suspend the veteran on-air personality.

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

The NFL MVP favorite, Jackson has seen these types of ignorant takes in the past.

Some speculated that his running ability should have led to a transition from quarterback to wide receiver when the former Heisman winner declared for the 2018 NFL Draft.

In fact, some teams are going back over front office notes from the lead up to that April in order to figure out which scouts had similar takes.

As it relates to Jackson, he’s been absolutely sensational as a sophomore. The former Louisville standout has tallied north of 3,500 total yards with 32 touchdowns and five interceptions in 12 starts this season.

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