During his playing career, Ryan Clark was once fined $40,000 for a blow to the head of an opponent. On Friday, he went below the belt with a colleague.
On ESPN’s Get Up, Clark dismissed an opinion from Peter Schrager regarding the relative performances from Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb and Eagles receiver A.J. Brown in the opening game by attributing it to “the non-player in you.”
It’s a lazy approach that some former players use to disregard the views of those who “never played the game.” And it’s dumb; plenty of people who didn’t have the God-given size, speed, and strength to play pro football love the sport, follow the sport, report on the sport, analyze the sport, know the sport.
While tweeting about last night’s game between the Chargers and the Chiefs, Clark slipped in an apology: “Today, I had an interaction with my colleague [Peter Schrager] both on and off the air that I regret. I have apologized to Peter and taken accountability with ESPN leadership. I value working with Peter and look forward to this season. My focus will remain on professionalism, teamwork, and being a better teammate moving forward.”
The apology (which should be issued not on social media but on the same platform where the incident occurred) discloses that, beyond the disrespect Clark demonstrated on the air, something else happened when the cameras and microphones weren’t on. Whatever Clark said or did, he felt compelled to include that in his public mea culpa.
The incident caps a week in which Clark made a nonsensical argument about Peyton Manning and Tom Brady not being “generational talents.”
At one level, it’s good for business for Clark to be saying things that get attention. Far too many former players who get broadcasting jobs but ultimately say nothing interesting or insightful benefit from what Howard Cosell dubbed decades ago the “jockocracy.” On another level, it’s not good for business when a former player’s takes consistently slide into idiocracy.
Most importantly, it’s imperative for colleagues to show respect for each other at all times. Clark crossed the line, both on and off the air.
At some networks, the end result would be something a little more permanent than a Friday night apology on Twitter.