Ryan Clark once roamed the back end of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, forming a dynamic duo with Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu during the late 2000's and early 2010's. Since his retirement back in 2015, Clark has been a part of ESPN's NFL coverage, appearing on shows such as SportsCenter, NFL Live, First Take, and more. Well, that was the case until now.
Late on Monday, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported that Clark had been let go by ESPN after over a decade with the company. He was reportedly made aware of his dismissal off the air during his appearance on NFL Live, which seems to be why he did not finish the last 10 minutes of the program.
While it looks rather classless to inform someone of their firing while actively in the middle of a live appearance, Marchand is reporting that it was due to fear that Clark would find out from a potential leak before Tuesday morning, which is when several other on-air personalities are expected to be laid off at the network.
As far as why he was among the names expected to depart ESPN, it all comes back to his challenging personality.
Ryan Clark's sudden departure linked to his prickly personality that Pittsburgh Steelers are very familiar with
Clark isn't exactly known for being quiet or soft-spoken. He was a hard-hitting, trash-talking menace during his NFL career, and while he has certainly dialed back his intensity as a broadcaster, he doesn't shy away from speaking his mind. Not that it's a bad thing necessarily, but it can be a double-edged sword.
According to Marchand's report on his departure, Clark didn't have many fans left in the building during the lead-up to his firing.
"ESPN executives soured on Clark because of issues with his words, a dynamic that peaked with an on- and off-air incident this past season involving colleague Peter Schrager," Marchand said. "On “Get Up” last September, after Schrager defended Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb’s performance in an opening-night loss, Clark said, 'That’s the non-player in you.'"
Ouch. While Clark ultimately apologized publicly for his comments toward Schrager, it seems to have been the beginning of the end for him at the network. It's not uncommon for former players to dismiss the opinions of analysts who never reached the pros, or maybe never played at all. Schrager, however, is a well-respected name in the industry and was a massive get for ESPN when he left Fox last year.
Now, it will be Clark who is looking for a new home. If there is one thing he can be happy about, it's that he somehow isn't the only former Steeler in the news for the wrong reasons this week.
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