The San Francisco 49ers suspended radio analyst Tim Ryan for comments he made about Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on Monday during a KNBR interview.
"We hold Tim to a high standard as a representative of our organization, and he must be more thoughtful with his words," the 49ers said via a statement. "Tim has expressed remorse in a public statement and has also done so with us privately. We know Tim as a man of high integrity and are confident he will grow and learn from this experience."
Dennis Brown will replace Ryan for this weekend's radio broadcast of the game between the 49ers and New Orleans Saints, joining play-by-play announcer Greg Papa.
49ers players Richard Sherman and Dee Ford on Thursday expressed support for Ryan, said they weren't as outraged as some by the comments, but acknowledge that the analyst could have chosen better words to convey what he was saying.
On Thursday afternoon, general manager John Lynch joined KNBR and was asked about Ryan's on-air comments during the interview and the 49ers' decision to suspend him.
"As for the situation, I will tell you it's very disappointing," Lynch said on the "Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks" show. "We play a great game like that, and then we've got to learn a couple of days later of what was said. It just didn't feel like something like that would come out of Tim's mouth because we're around Tim a lot. ... I've always known Tim. I worked with him at the NFL on FOX. Not with him directly, but I knew him from there. Then I came up here, and he was already on board.
"But our organization made a decision, that I believe there needed to be a consequence. What he said was offensive. It wasn't reflective of what I feel, what our organization feels. I think he's extremely remorseful. He's talked to me, he's talked to a lot of our players, and he's paying a price for it.
"I just feel bad that after such a great game, that -- one of the things I did, I picked up the phone and called a good friend, Ozzie Newsome at the Ravens. We talked about the game first, and I congratulated him, but said, 'Hey, Ozzie, unfortunately, something happened, and I need to let you know.' He was very appreciative of that and handled it with the class that I have always known Ozzie Newsome to be about.
"You have to own what you say, and I understand that. Tim knows that. He's paying a price for it. And then we're trying to go win a football game in New Orleans. We did what we felt was appropriate as an organization, and we'll move forward from there."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
