ESPN suspended Bob Ryan for the derogatory comments he made about Mark Jackson, the former NBA player and Warriors head coach who is now a color commentator on the network's broadcasts.
Ryan told The Big Lead that it was an “intemperate, foolish outburst that I regret. I was treated very nicely by the company, and have told them that I will not do anything like this again to be out of their good graces.”
In case you missed hit, here were Ryan's original remarks, which he made during an appearance on The Dan LeBatard Show:
I am on record, thank God, publicly saying two years ago, I looked at the NBA, I looked at the rosters and what was going on, and said, “The most talented team one through eight, at least, in the NBA is the Golden State Warriors. They’re doing okay, but I know that they can do better. I know if they had a real coach, not some phony, Bible-pounding phony that Mark Jackson is, when he isn’t even a legitimate Bible pounder, I know that they’ll be better off.” I didn’t know that it would be Steve Kerr. I didn’t know that it would be Luke Walton. I didn’t know WHO it would be, but I knew that he was out there, and there were plenty of them out there that could make them a better team, yes.
He also called Jackson a "con man" as part of the same rant, but it appears as though, at least to his employer, that Ryan has issued an apology.
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