Photo by Michael Zagaris/49ers/Getty Images

The San Francisco 49ers have suspended radio analyst Tim Ryan for 1 game for saying Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson is hard to stop because his dark skin is the same color as the football.

Ryan made the incendiary remark on Monday during a show on the 49ers’ flagship radio station KNBR, according to CBS News.

Photo by Michael Zagaris/49ers/Getty Images

Ryan was describing Jackson’s fake handoffs that usually result in the potential MVP keeping the ball and running it in for a touchdown. Jackson led the Ravens to a 20-17 win over the 49ers at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland on Sunday, Dec. 1.

Photo by Michael Zagaris/49ers/Getty Images

“He’s really good at that fake, Lamar Jackson,” Ryan said on the radio show Monday.

“But when you consider his dark skin color 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.”


 

Jackson’s exploits on the field this season drew comparisons to another famed dual-threat quarterback, former Atlanta Falcons superstar Mike Vick.

Photo by Michael Zagaris/49ers/Getty Images

While many are happy that a Black quarterback is the frontrunner for the NFL league MVP, others are bitter and hateful.

Many Twitter users defended Ryan, saying they didn’t see anything wrong with what he said.

One Twitter user wrote:

“He points out that it’s difficult to see someone with dark skin holding a dark football and all black. There is nothing racist about this. It’s just a fact that the contrast with the background made him difficult to see.”

Another user tweeted, “He’s right. I can barely see the football!”

And a third Twitter user wrote: “One game suspension means they know he’s right, but they have to pretend for the idiots”.

Some Twitter users suggested making the football a lighter color.