Although they occasionally work together on ESPN's "First Take," former NFL stars Ryan Clark and Cam Newton aren't exactly on great terms.
Last week, Newton invited former Fox Sports broadcaster Jason Whitlock onto his "4th and 1" podcast. That decision ruffled some feathers since Whitlock has a legitimate rivalry with ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith.
With that said, Whitlock accused Smith of lying about his background. That led to a public response from ESPN's $100 million man.
"Cam Newton, next time, my brother, cause you know I love you, you gonna interview somebody and bring me up? Don't just sit there and let them talk [expletive]. Ask questions," Smith said, via Awful Announcing.
"Let them prove it. I'm a fraud? How? What facts do you have? I'm sitting there doing an interview with Graham Bensinger the other day and I talked about how growing up as a teenager, I saw a few people get murdered…I'm lying about that according to Jason Whitlock, like he was in Hollis Queens, New York 40-plus years ago. How would he know? I'm a fraud, how do you know? I didn't write my own book, how do you know? If you're gonna bring me up and you're somebody that's in my inner circle and you talk to me, grill them. Don't just let them talk smack."
Nov 25, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Ryan Clark on the ESPN Monday Night Football Countdown set before the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
On Tuesday night, Clark shared his thoughts on Newton's controversial interview with Whitlock.
Clark basically called out Newton for not being loyal to Smith and his ESPN co-workers.
"If someone shows you love, has you on 'their' show twice a week… at least. You don't bring his known enemy on your show and allow your guest to talk [expletive] about person," Clark wrote on social media. "That's not G at all. Loyalty is at a minimum these days."
Cam Newton defends himself.
During a video posted from the "4th & 1" YouTube account this Tuesday, Newton explained why he didn't implement any restrictions for what Whitlock was allowed to say on his show.
"You cannot allow people to come on your platform and you control how it goes. You only can allow them to speak their truth how they know their truth to be," Newton said, via Awful Announcing. "And if you don't know, you can respectfully say, ‘I don't know if this is true or not.' So when Stephen A. says, ‘You didn't hammer down on the question.' I didn't know that it was a lie."
Suffice to say, Newton isn't going to issue a public apology for his decisions.
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