Former NFL standouts like Ed Reed and Ryan Clark quickly responded to the White House using their likeness in a pro-bombing propaganda video on their official X account
16:25 ET, 13 Mar 2026
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Former Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark wasn't happy with a recent post from the White House(Image: Getty Images)
The official White House account on X has turned to posting compilations of American athletes overlayed with military strikes in Iran and other recent Donald Trump-era conquests.
A recent video, garnering over 10 million impressions in a matter of days, featured a compilation of NFL and college football big hits and included faces like Ray Lewis and Ryan Clark. Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed quickly condemned the post. "I do not approve this message," he wrote on X.
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Clark immediately jumped on The Pivot podcast and said, "War is not a comedy." Former Nebraska receiver Kenny Bell, tackled hard in one of the clips, was interviewed by Ryan Klemko of the Washington Post and said the social media post makes him "sick."
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“For that play to be associated with bombing human beings makes me sick,” Bell said. “I don’t want anything to do with images like that.”
“I think it is very important to draw the line somewhere, and this video is a really good example of where to draw the line,” he added.
“The killing of people is something that’s very, very serious and should not be taken lightly. . . . It scares me for our society that you can be scrolling through social media looking at dog photos, and suddenly you’re seeing someone blown up.”
The video used the popular AC/DC song Thunderstruck in the background and has yet to be deleted.
Other videos from the White House X account have featured MLB players like Barry Bonds hitting home runs and popular bowler Pete Weber.
“I am disappointed that the video was even made,” Clark said on The Pivot. “To have [Thunderstruck] and football highlights on a video about war is one of the more insensitive things that I’ve ever seen.
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"There are families here in our country whose loved ones have decided to give their lives to fight for our rights and our freedoms, who don’t see war as a sport. War doesn’t deserve a highlight film.”
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“War is not a comedy,” he continued. “And for these people to be risking their lives, not for our safety as much as for someone else’s agenda. For our regime to be as unserious, as unprofessional, as laughable, and as illegitimate as our leadership is right now is embarrassing."
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Clark, 46, went undrafted in the 2002 NFL Draft after a college career at LSU. He stuck with the New York Giants but saw his most success as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He was a Pro Bowler in 2011, a season after he helped Pittsburgh win its sixth Super Bowl title.