BRADENTON, Fla. — Several 49ers players came to Tim Ryan’s defense Thursday, a day after the radio analyst was suspended for Sunday’s game after referring to Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson’s “dark skin.”
Ryan personally apologized to players at the team’s nearby hotel, and while they vouched for his upstanding character, they also acknowledged his sensitive choice of words.
Cornerback Richard Sherman said Ryan made “valid” points that weren’t personally offensive to him or the locker room. Defensive end Dee Ford added that Ryan has no racial tendencies and this controversy can be blamed on how “it’s just the era we live in, it’s messed up.