Former ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark is still licking his wounds following his sudden departure from the network. Last Monday the former NFL safety Clark was pulled off the air during a live show and told he was being laid off.
With ESPN once again in a season of major change as it pertains to layoffs, Clark was apparently one of them. Or was he? That’s not what Clark, who was being paid $2 million per year in his role, said during a recent episode of his podcast “The Pivot.” There Clark expounded on what really went down at the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.
Clark Clears Up Fog Surrounding His Sudden Departure
Speaking with co-hosts Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, who are also former NFL players, Clark the former LSU Tigers legend didn’t hold back, in fact he shed a tear.
“Let me put this to bed: I wasn’t laid off. I was fired,” Clark declared.
“They’re using layoffs as a cover and a camouflage for what they already intended on doing. “But there was no cause for it. So because there was no cause for it, you couldn’t just fire me, you had to wait until the layoffs so you could camouflage it and veil it,” he continued.
“For three years we never shied away from any topic. … We did this year.”
Clark In Tears As He Says Things Changed At Network
Never one to run from a good debate, especially one that featured racial undertones, Clark mentioned some big changes that the network was undergoing in his 11 years being employed by them.
“I knew I couldn’t have any beef. I knew I couldn’t respond to disrespect. I knew, for a lack of a better word, I couldn’t be too Black,” the former Pittsburgh Steelers safety explained.
“What makes me sad is, in even trying to adjust to be more of what certain people wanted, they still fired me,” he lamented.
“When I go home, and this kid from the West Bank (Marrero, Louisiana) is so accepted in New Orleans now, I wouldn’t change that. Never,” he added as he wiped away tears. “All I ever wanted to do was be accepted. So, yeah, I wouldn’t change.”
Clark said he felt there were people at the network who didn’t like his style.
“You know, I feel like there’s a group of people, a faction of individuals who wanted to devalue my voice, who wanted to take away my platform. I feel like I let them win,” he mourned.
“But then there’s the other side of it. My platform isn’t as big anyway, or it’s not as impactful anyway, if I don’t do those things. If I’m not that person, if I’m not authentically me, right? And it’s not even something I can prove, that if I was different, they wouldn’t have fired me. I can’t prove that,” he added.
Fans Chime In On Clark’s Departure
Social media again received plenty of varying opinions on the move and Clark’s response to it.
“I am so proud of the voice you’ve built… I can’t wait to see where you land, I will definitely keep watching and believing in you!” a fan said.
“Clark is all race and politics on a sports entertainment channel. He should go on CNN if he wants to race bait,” another fan said.
“It’s ok to cry as a man, but cry in private. When you do it in public, then they have really won,” someone else replied.
“While all of us could always do something different in hindsight, it is good to stay true to who you are. We’re all proud of you. Very proud!!!” a fan mentioned.
“Keep building your own platform…espn is a dying entity that we all grew upwith…this is way better and it’s y’alls!!” a person quipped.
