Ryan Clark breaks his silence on his firing from ESPN, the way it really happened, clears the air on certain scenarios, if he saw it coming, support and what he will miss most from the job he loved and poured into for over a decade.

“Without great critics, you’ve had no great successes.” Ryan Clark Today's episode hits close to home, and is personal for us but also powerful. We always ask our guests what is their biggest Pivot, and now we are asking Ryan to share his after the past few days of things transpiring with the way they have. On Monday July 20, 2026, Ryan was let go from ESPN while on air, mid show of NFL Live...from that moment on it's been a rollercoaster of emotions, and events as the news began to travel around the sports world but Ryan has remained quiet as he's processed the news and appreciated the outpour of support. Fred and Channing sit with Ryan for a deeply personal conversation, the guys discuss what happened, if there were signs, how it TRULY went down and the aftermath of what it all means. Only how he can do, Ryan puts words to perspective from the past decade of work, specifically the past year, and sets the record straight on what really transpired with certain instances that other media continues to point out. With ESPN having the Super Bowl this season, the decision comes at an unusual time and shocking move to many...but did RC see it coming? Doing what our platform does best, the guys create a space for the vulnerability of the situation, Ryan's reflection, the emotional side, cultural impact and asks if Ryan has anything he wishes he would have done differently that may have changed the end result. Extremely personal discussion, that's raw, authentic and true to who we are as men. We appreciate you Pivot Family for rocking with us and for the unconditional support that allows our platform to be what it is today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Normally, this is the time when I introduce the Pivot's next guest. But today, that guest is me. I haven't said a word since being fired while on air Monday evening. But now, I will. Thank you for tuning into my biggest pivot.

• 1:06Channing Crowder?

  Welcome to a special Friday edition of The Pivot. That's Fred T. I'm Chan. Pivot fam, thank you for pivoting with us. But RC ain't lose all his jobs. We have a special guest today. Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion, four-time Emmy Award winner, and former ESPN employee. We got Ryan Clark coming out.

• 1:32Ryan Clark?

  Somebody had to do it. What up, brother? Somebody had to do it. What up, man?

• 1:39Ryan Clark?

  Hey, RC. You know how I always ask the guests, what's their biggest pivot, right? Yeah. I think this is the biggest pivot. For sure. I think I'll look at it in five years. And if I was sitting down with Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor, that would be the answer. Now, what happens from now is like the rest of the story. But I think the moment would be this moment.

• 2:06Channing Crowder?

  You good? I don't know, I joke about it, but you know what I'm saying? It is a serious, serious situation.

• 2:12Ryan Clark?

  I think, you know, I'm definitely okay. But I feel for the other people who are going through this with me. Karl Ravitch been there 33 years. Charles Davis, one of the best men in the business, along with best analyst. Bart Scott, Cam Newton, Tom Pellicero, and like countless other behind the scenes people. And you think, you know, what I learned about ESPN is so many people who worked there grew up close to ESPN. So they grew up with a dream of being there. And being able to work behind the scenes and create these stories and tell this story. And now their job is gone. Right? What I'm dealing with is, in truth, a first world problem.

• 2:57Ryan Clark?

  But there are some people who are truly counting on what ESPN was going to do for them to feed their family. And, you know, so my thoughts and my prayers are with them as well. I think the big question is, did you see it coming? Could you take us inside that moment? Yes and no. I'm upset with myself from this perspective. There were signs, but I truly thought, for the first time in my life, I worked so hard at something, I was so good at something, everybody acknowledged that I was, that they couldn't fire me, that they wouldn't fire me. That a company who's gonna have the Super Bowl this year,

• 3:40Ryan Clark?

  who truly wants to put their best foot forward to the entire world, and have the best people talking about football, wouldn't fire, in my opinion, this is my opinion, and it seems to be the opinion of many others, the best football analyst in the world. I didn't think that. And that's my fault. You know, this offseason, our piece on Monday Night Football with Greg Brooks won an award, a diversity award. And our showrunner, and our director, and our producer were so excited. And it was like, PR is gonna post it. And it never happened. And eventually, I just posted it myself. And then PR reached out, like, oh, I'm so sorry that we missed it, but the Emmys are coming up and we'll post it afterwards.

• 4:23Ryan Clark?

  And I just remember sending a text to one of the people I work with. And I said, they're not gonna post that, they don't care. A company that posts about, you know, cool things like spelling bees, and posts about the Family Feud, and all of these things, didn't care about an actual segment on our show about a young man like Greg. Didn't care about that enough because of me to use it.

• 4:49Channing Crowder?

  Was that ever addressed?

• 4:50Ryan Clark?

  No, it was never addressed. Family Feud. They have an NFL Live Family Feud, a show that I've been a part of, that I won a sports Emmy for being a part of, that's won two Emmys in a row because of the core of Laura Rutledge, Marcus Spears, Dan Orlovsky, Mina Kimes, and Ryan Clark. You go do Family Feud, and Marcus and I aren't there, but Marcus was asked. And when I reached out to the people who were involved, they just said, one said, we never asked for you. Another said, these two people were already on Pat's show, and that's why you and Marcus weren't on. But Marcus was asked, I wasn't.

• 5:34Ryan Clark?

  So there were just signs throughout the season, like even now. If you look at everything for the Super Bowl year, I'm not on any of that. A guy that's supposed to be a part of Monday Night Football, a man that's supposed to be a part of NFL Live, a man that's a huge part of First Take, was a part of Building Get Up. So to me, the signs were always there. And I called, man. I called executives, I called decision makers, I called bosses. Is my schedule changing? What's it look like? And it was never a definitive answer. But I think it was never a definitive answer because this was always the plan.

• 6:18Channing Crowder?

  Yeah. And you're not a shy dude. Like you said, I know you ain't just sitting in the shadows with your head down. You gonna address situations. But if it's not performance-based, what's it based off of?

• 6:31Ryan Clark?

  Well, to address the head-down thing, what makes me a little bit sad about myself is I did adjust who I was to try to keep my job. I did have meetings with people and say, okay, what is it that you need from me? Not the analyst. The analyst was, he was damn good. Right? If you care about the person that's on TV, what is it you need from me? Because I want to do that. I want to build a relationship. I want to involve you in the things I'm doing.

• 7:11Ryan Clark?

  You know, man, like this show, for three years, bro, we never shied away from any topic. We never shied away from tackling anything. We did this year. Because I knew I couldn't have no beef. I knew I couldn't respond to disrespect. Right? I knew, for lack of a better word, I couldn't be too black. What makes me sad is, even in trying to adjust to be at least more of what certain people wanted, they still fired me. And so, I think that that is difficult.

• 7:53Ryan Clark?

  I think it's about some of who I am. And it's about certain executives not connecting to that, not supporting that, not wanting to champion that, not wanting to give that the vast platform that is ESPN. And I think they utilized it to make an example of me. But RC, you called some people to figure out what you can do. Did anybody give you a heads up? Yeah. I had gotten some heads up.

• 8:32Ryan Clark?

  I mean, somewhere ago, Stephen A. sat with me, took me to lunch in Los Angeles. And he told me, he said, you know, there's a particular executive that doesn't like you. No, let me be honest. I had been hearing this for years. Right? It had gotten to me so many times. And so, having that dinner or that lunch with Stephen A. was just confirmation of it. He's like, you need to go set a meeting. But so many times that I heard about this particular person, it was, he doesn't like you, or he's said this negatively. So I'd heard it a ton of times. And I got a call this offseason from someone within the building.

• 9:12Ryan Clark?

  And, you know, they said, the way I stand up for our community is commendable. Right? That they respected that in my position, I had a passion for that. But they also said it had created enemies for me at the executive level. It had created opposition. And that there were people within that building that were going to stand on the table for me. And it was such a shock. Because I thought to myself...

• 9:51Ryan Clark?

  In the most important year in ESPN football, you gotta stand on the table for me? Like, for me? Like, there is somebody that needs to be convinced that our NFL coverage is elevated when I'm on TV? Like, there's a person that knows football. There's a person that knows TV that thinks that 13 years in the NFL, Super Bowl, Pro Bowler, a captain, experience from being an undrafted free agent to trying to make the team, to being one of the leaders in the locker room. 12 years of doing this, you gotta convince that person that I should be doing TV.

• 10:35Ryan Clark?

  And, you know, what I learned was, it wasn't about who I was in front of the camera as it pertained to football. It was about what I represented every time I got in front of that camera. And that is something that I don't believe you truly, truly can come back.

• 10:56Fred Taylor?

  When it's all said and done, that's the least anyone can do. I mean, you stand up and stand on, you know, the shoulders of, or for so many people. Like, what you do, brother, is unbelievable. So, for someone to stand up for you, I think that's the minimum anyone can do. But, so also, I want to put this to bed, because a lot of people been having their takes about Stephen A. And you mentioned Stephen A. Is there anything Stephen A. could have done to make this go away?

• 11:23Ryan Clark?

  No. Stephen A., with all of his power, with all of his influence, is not a true decision-maker at ESPN. That's not his job title, right? That's not in the repertoire of what he's asked to do. And we get it so many times, right? And I get it all the time. Why do you ride for him so much? Like, why don't you come for him when he says these things? And I've said it on this show, I call him. I text him. I tell him what I think he's doing too much. And I have the conversations with him all the time. But when this company was treating me in a way

• 12:08Ryan Clark?

  that, at least in my opinion, was unfair as it pertains to what I'd accomplished, he was the first person to go, "I want you." "If they're gonna take you off of this or that, don't worry about it, you'll get your TV time on my show." Thursday and Friday will be Ryan Clark's days.

• 12:32Ryan Clark?

  That will never be forgotten by me. I will be forever grateful for that. That in a space that I was sort of being told, at least being who you are

• 12:48Ryan Clark?

  is going to make you lose certain things because you aren't these people that we covet, these people that we're comfortable with, these people that we take pictures with and put our arms around and show the world that we support them. I'll do that for you. And the loyalty he showed me, the love he showed me, the true hurt and pain in his voice when he called me around 4 o'clock Central time on Monday, I will never forget that. We are forever, forever friends.

• 13:23Channing Crowder?

  You talking about 4 Central on Monday?

• 13:27Channing Crowder?

  What happened on Monday? Because you got, bro, you got five mid-shifts.

• 13:34Channing Crowder?

  Gets fired halfway through that job.

• 13:37Ryan Clark?

  Hey, Chad, crazy, right? Hey.

• 13:39Channing Crowder?

  Where'd the other box go?

• 13:41Ryan Clark?

  Hey, see, Smokey was trying to build club houses. You know what I'm saying? He was stealing boxes.

• 13:47Channing Crowder?

  He was stealing boxes.

• 13:48Ryan Clark?

  Hey, my box disappeared. Your box flew away. Hey, they was like, damn.

• 13:53Channing Crowder?

  I said, "Then where else it go?"

• 13:55Ryan Clark?

  Um, yeah, so

• 14:00Ryan Clark?

  let me put this to bed. I wasn't laid off. I was fired.

• 14:07Ryan Clark?

  Right? They're using layoffs as a cover and a camouflage for what they already intended on doing. But there was no cause for it, right? So because there was no cause for it, you couldn't just fire me. So you had to wait to the layoffs so you could camouflage it and veil it, right? But here's the other thing. If I was laid off, like everybody else, that came out on Tuesday. Mine came out on Friday. I get the call. I get a text from our showrunner that tells me to call my boss. I call my boss in the break. Tells me they're letting me go. He said, "This is a very awkward call. This is a hard call." Like, I hear how hard it was for him.

• 14:52Ryan Clark?

  And if anybody was gonna call me that was anywhere on the executive level, whether low or high, he's the person I wanted to, the way he's fought for me and rode for me.

• 15:02Ryan Clark?

  And he said, "Our friends, jokingly, at Outkick, had the story, and we're gonna leak it." Let me tell you why I know I was fired. Because during the season, after some of the Kyron Lacy news broke, there were people on our network, along with me, that said something about it. Both of those people apologized, as did I. I didn't want to. Right? I was told I couldn't come to work if I didn't. And at that point, I said, "Well, I can't come to work tomorrow because I don't believe I did anything wrong." Some conversations happened, and we got to that point. And Outkick wrote an article about all the people that apologized.

• 15:46Ryan Clark?

  Two very prominent faces at ESPN. And they praised them for who they were and how they brought this thing back around. And they bashed me. Talked about how negative I was and spoke about me in such a nasty way. And I sent an email, at that time, to Burke Magnus and Dave Roberts, who were working. Because we were on the email, talking about how we were gonna handle it. And I was very poignant in saying, "You have to watch who you listen to about me." There are certain people who want to paint me as a certain thing, certain people who want to devalue my voice, certain people who, no matter what I do, with all the great I've done, they've never mentioned that. But in this case, there are three people who are very important to this network,

• 16:30Ryan Clark?

  who all did the same thing, who all responded in the same way. And only one of us was vilified. And only one of us was a black man.

• 16:41Ryan Clark?

  And so, how poignant, how

• 16:46Ryan Clark?

  purposeful is it to make sure that that's the exact same publication that gets the story that I'm gonna be fired? Because you know what they're gonna do? They're gonna praise ESPN. They're gonna pump ESPN up for getting rid of the person who stands up for the community. And they're gonna say that these are all the reasons why I didn't belong on TV in the first place. So let's garner as much positive publicity as we can early before all of these people that you've seen come out on my behalf and say, "I was the best in the world at the job, and I deserved better." One, I didn't deserve to be laid off or fired. It ain't about money.

• 17:29Ryan Clark?

  Two, I didn't deserve to be handled that way. So, let's get ahead of it. And they were gonna get ahead of it by leaking it to someone who they know hated me.

• 17:39Channing Crowder?

  I would say, "Bro, how could this be that thought out when they just asked you if we could all, as a crew, come on First Take in August? That don't make no sense." When I saw it and how they did it, and how outspoken you are about the community and how, like, you're talking. Some people don't agree with your stances and don't like that you were that open on their platforms. To me, it seemed like it was almost like buck breaking.

• 18:03Ryan Clark?

  Slave return.

• 18:04Channing Crowder?

  You know, where you're the outspoken one, you're alpha. Let's embarrass him so everybody else gets in line. So nobody else talks crazy to us anymore, goes through emails or whatever. Like, no, let's teach him a lesson. Let's embarrass him on national TV so that they all line up.

• 18:22Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I think, I think that could be part of it, you know? Like, I also know that

• 18:30Ryan Clark?

  this is a private company. They get to make their decisions based on what they want to make them on, on what they want to do. What I do know is, they didn't take a vote.

• 18:47Ryan Clark?

  This wasn't about the majority, right? This wasn't about the people I work with day to day because my phone, my phone don't say that. Production people who ain't worked with me in five, six years. "Thank you for how you treated me.

• 19:03Ryan Clark?

  Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for your professionalism. Thank you for showing up constantly, you know? Monday night, thank you for always." If we didn't have, if we didn't have any talent on a meeting, you were always there. You were always on time. You were always building things for the other people on that set. Thank you. And so, when the people you work with cry for you, man, that means the world to me.

• 19:33Ryan Clark?

  When I get the messages of, like, the fact that I supported you, the fact that I was there for you means the world to you. Like, it gave you the legs to stand up and be who you were on TV. Like, that matters. This is a, this was a dictatorship.

• 19:49Ryan Clark?

  A person or a group of persons, very small group. They didn't poll the majority. They didn't ask that question. Because you ask that question, now you gotta say, "Even though you told me just how important he was, I don't care. I don't care. I know how important you think he is, and you work with him every day. I don't care how important you think he is. I don't like him.

• 20:18Ryan Clark?

  People like me don't like him. They keep calling my phone. I don't want my phone to ring no more."

• 20:26Ryan Clark?

  Right? There's other things I'll defend. I'll defend talking about another executive. I'll defend that. I'll defend sabotage.

• 20:38Ryan Clark?

  I'll defend getting sued. I'll defend all those things. What I'm not gonna defend is you standing up for Angel Reese and everybody being mad about the way he did it, about what you said about, "I'm not gonna defend that." No. I'm not gonna defend you standing on ten toes for them all the time.

• 20:59Ryan Clark?

  It's not what I'm gonna do. I'm not gonna take those calls. And that was the decision that was made. And I believe that that has a large role in why it was made.

• 21:10Fred Taylor?

  Bro, we know how much you love what you do and how hard you work and how passionate you are. And we've seen numerous occasions where we've had opportunities on this show to make X amount of money, and you help us understand that it's not about the money. It's about the quality of the work that we have to put out and the lives it's gonna touch. So, we agree with you. It's not about the money. It's never been about that. It's about your job and simply what you love to do. But when you text me, like all the other people you spoke about, I said, "Man, this man lying." April Fool's, I mean, April. I didn't believe him, but respectfully, I didn't wanna respond that way, 'cause it caught me off guard.

• 21:51Fred Taylor?

  And I was like, "Ain't no fucking way these people are that stupid to do one of their best." But people like that, and I ain't saying that 'cause we rock, but I just know what it is. But even then, you know, I started searching the internet and trying to figure out like many people might be, like, what happened? Like, what's going on? Like, is this a Netflix doc situation? Like, what's really going on? And we've been hearing reports about, you know, the disagreement with Peter, right? They're trying to pit you and pack against each other. And so many other things people are trying to stir up and figure out what's going on. Like Chan said, like, they're looking or waiting for a scandal, right?

• 22:35Fred Taylor?

  But it's simpler than that.

• 22:38Ryan Clark?

  Oh, yeah. It's no scandal. Let me be very clear. I love Pat McAfee. I think what Pat McAfee set out to do really put in place a blueprint for a lot of us. Like, can we do it and be accepted or received at that level, at that amount of money? Probably not. He's an anomaly in that way, but I respect and admire what he's built so, so much. Peter Schrager, like, me and Peter don't have an issue, right? I would think if you'd ask him right now, obviously after what went on with us, there's been nobody that's nicer to him. And I do wanna address that as well.

• 23:23Ryan Clark?

  Going into last season, that was when I met with the executive and said, "Hey, look, I can only see one reason why you'll have a problem with me, 'cause it's not my work." And I get my schedule. I'm supposed to work Thursday, Friday on Get Up and First Take. I fly in on Wednesday night. That's what my schedule says, so I fly in on Wednesday night. I never get an email. I never get a text message. Normally, you get that about the production meeting. I don't get that. So, I wake up in the morning, and I was like, "Well, you know, I'm not working. I'm texting, hey, am I off of it?" And I cut the TV on, and Taylor and Will are on, which, like, I'm happy for them. Them boys worked hard to get that opportunity, right? Go do your thing.

• 24:08Ryan Clark?

  But I was upset, 'cause, "Wait, you can't call me and tell me that the schedules changed? I don't deserve the respect of believing that this is my schedule." And along with some other people, we built Get Up. That joke was dying. Your original idea didn't work. So, it was Dan, and it was Marcus, and it was Culture Wednesday with me and Dominique. That's why that show lasted, to be what it is that you turned it into now.

• 24:42Ryan Clark?

  And the people who I built that with, y'all just couldn't call me and just tell me, "RC, we made another decision." And I asked, man, and another thing I'm mad at myself, I begged and begged to be back on that show, 'cause it meant so much to me that we built it and to be on it. And they just kept telling me, "People aren't doing both shows."

• 25:04Ryan Clark?

  Dan's doing both shows all the time. Damian Woody's doing both shows all the time. Peter Schrager's doing both shows all the time. And so, I'm already feeling something. And you go into that Friday, and Greedy had said, and Peter had exchanged a couple of times, that neither one of them ever played. And we're talking about C.D. Lamb, and I tried to be very thoughtful in the way I approached it, because I wasn't trying to say you don't have an opinion because you didn't play. I was trying to say you have a different opinion because you didn't play.

• 25:47Ryan Clark?

  And maybe that didn't, maybe I didn't get that across in the right way, right? I can accept that. But then he raises his voice at me. He's like, "Don't belittle me and this and this." And in the moment, I'm like, "I'm on TV. I'm not finna have that back and forth. Let me be calm. Let me de-escalate this, and let me truly explain what I mean, that the in-helmet perspective is different than the out-of-helmet perspective." And so, we get in the break, man, and I walk off, right? 'Cause I'm upset, 'cause I'm knowing what's gonna happen, because he said I belittled him and he raised his voice at me. And he's like celebrating the segment, like it's a great segment, but I'm already knowing the person who loves you don't love me, and they make decisions here, and we just had that happen. And while he's celebrating, I'm just telling him, like, "Man, like, don't effing disrespect

• 26:32Ryan Clark?

  me like that, 'cause I'm knowing what's gonna happen." Now, at this point, I'm standing over here, right? I've gotten out of my chair, which is two away from him. I'm standing over there. And obviously, they recorded, and they showed me the video, and I'm talking to people who've been there for 12 years, man, and they like, "We thought you were gonna get aggressive." What?

• 26:52Ryan Clark?

  The person you've been knowing all this time who never did anything, who's never had an altercation here, was gonna get aggressive from over there? So, now you're trying to paint this angry, this angry black man trope of me that you know is not true, but I'm starting to feel the narrative. I'm starting, I feel what you're doing. You get me on the phone, and you're, and people are telling me, "You gotta work better with people." Work better with who? Everybody I work with loves me. Like, real talk. Everybody I work with, they, pause, they effing me the long way.

• 27:27Ryan Clark?

  Like, I ain't the best teammate. Hell, Jason Kelsey called me just to tell me that.

• 27:34Ryan Clark?

  And so, I was just seeing the narrative that was being pushed and seeing the way it was going. And then, even that, much like what happened with Outkick with my firing, they leaked that video. And when they showing me this video, it's the video from the control room. So, if that's gonna get released, that's somebody that works for us. Right? You been here 12 years. You have this incident? I want people to know that about you.

• 28:06Ryan Clark?

  I'm getting calls, "We got the video. The video's been leaked.

• 28:12Ryan Clark?

  We're gonna, this is, we're gonna show this." And honestly, I was trying to keep my job at the time. I should've told him, "Show it. Show him that he celebrated. Show him that I walked away. Show him that I was a 46-year-old man that said the F-word from 15 feet away from somebody." But me and Peter talked. Me and Peter fixed that. Me and Peter had the conversation. Me and Peter moved on from it, right? And what I wanted to do from him from that point on, 'cause I heard what he said, I never wanted to make him feel that way, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

• 28:49Ryan Clark?

  So, anything he wanted to do on TV, any point he made, any conversation he wanted to have, I was gonna have it with him. I was gonna support him. I was gonna be a good teammate, 'cause that's what I did for everybody else. And like, that was unfortunate, but that's not why I'm fired.

• 29:04Speaker 00

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• 29:35Fred Taylor?

  You're a stand-up guy. You've always preached accountability. Looking back over your 11 years at ESPN?

• 29:41Ryan Clark?

  12.

• 29:42Fred Taylor?

  11, 12. Is there anything you would do differently, or do you leave knowing that you were fully yourself, or, you know? What are your thoughts, man?

• 29:51Ryan Clark?

  It's a good question.

• 29:54Ryan Clark?

  It depends on when you ask me.

• 29:58Ryan Clark?

  You know?

• 30:02Ryan Clark?

  Like, you ask me, like, when I see people in public, like OGs and like aunties and stuff, and they tell me they proud of me, and they proud of like...

• 30:35Ryan Clark?

  And they probably like the way.

• 30:41Ryan Clark?

  I represent the community?

• 30:42Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 30:45Ryan Clark?

  I wouldn't change anything.

• 30:53Ryan Clark?

  Because that means the world to me. You know, or like.

• 31:00Ryan Clark?

  When I go home.

• 31:04Ryan Clark?

  And this kid, you know.

• 31:09Ryan Clark?

  From the West Bank.

• 31:13Ryan Clark?

  Is like so accepted in New Orleans now.

• 31:19Ryan Clark?

  Like, I wouldn't change that.

• 31:22Ryan Clark?

  You know, never.

• 31:26Ryan Clark?

  You know, like.

• 31:30Ryan Clark?

  All I ever wanted to do is be accepted.

• 31:34Ryan Clark?

  You know, and want it, so.

• 31:38Ryan Clark?

  So, yeah, like that, I wouldn't change. You know? If you ask me, probably the first, like, Monday.

• 31:49Ryan Clark?

  Of football.

• 31:52Ryan Clark?

  When all my friends.

• 31:56Ryan Clark?

  Get to do something like.

• 31:59Ryan Clark?

  We did like super special together. Yeah. I'd probably change it. You know? Probably work harder to like. Be who they wanted me to be or. Like build relationships with like bosses or executives. You know, because like it's just a relationship game. Because like I just see these people on TV who like aren't better than me. But I know I've never been at the tables. They've been accepted at, so yeah, you know? There are some things. I think I would do differently because I feel like I let them win. You know, I feel like there's a group of people.

• 32:43Ryan Clark?

  A faction of individuals who wanted to like devalue my voice, who wanted to take away. My platform, I feel like I let them win.

• 32:52Ryan Clark?

  You know, but then there's the other side of it of like, 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, and it's, it's not even something I can prove that if I was different, they wouldn't have fired me. I can't prove that.

• 33:16Fred Taylor?

  Tough.

• 33:17Ryan Clark?

  Right? So if I can't prove that, why? I would have hated to be fired being something I wasn't. Oh, my gosh, that'd be the worst. Yeah, man, like my, my kids, like. They love me. You know what I'm saying? But I feel like I let them down.

• 33:33Fred Taylor?

  Never.

• 33:33Ryan Clark?

  You know, like.

• 33:37Ryan Clark?

  Regardless of how much like money I was able to save and all the opportunities I was given, that's why I'm so focused on like the other people who lost their job. It's like, this helps us. Right? My kids get to live a certain way. I get to take care of my parents. I get to help. You know, my brothers and my, my brother and my nieces and my nephews and.

• 34:01Ryan Clark?

  So many people because like I'm in a place to where I can have excess because of what I can do so good. And to have that taken away, you know? For whatever it is, if I could have been different in some ways, probably. You ask me on the right day, yeah. I would say I have some regrets.

• 34:24Fred Taylor?

  Sacrifice ain't cheap, man.

• 34:26Ryan Clark?

  I know. You know?

• 34:30Ryan Clark?

  The thing.

• 34:32Ryan Clark?

  It's like.

• 34:35Ryan Clark?

  The thing I just told you I loved.

• 34:38Ryan Clark?

  Comes at a price.

• 34:39Fred Taylor?

  Yep.

• 34:41Ryan Clark?

  Right? I love them both. I love, loved my job.

• 34:47Fred Taylor?

  We know.

• 34:47Ryan Clark?

  I love talking football. I love studying it. I love educating people on it. I love making people laugh about it. I love entertaining people, I love the people I work with. And I love my community.

• 35:04Ryan Clark?

  It doesn't mean I don't love them all. It just means like, that's the one in particular I could speak from a matter of perspective.

• 35:13Fred Taylor?

  You would still have one if you let the other one go.

• 35:19Fred Taylor?

  My opinion, if you stop talking, if you stop doing, you know, racial justice stuff, if you stop talking about Angel Reese, if you stop talking about Lake, so you stop doing that, you could still be doing football. Am I, am I wrong?

• 35:31Ryan Clark?

  Probably not. I do know. That when I was negotiating this contract, I sent a message about how hard I was working to get this deal done. And how grateful I was. They had given me the opportunity to work at ESPN. And the message I got back was along the lines of, well, you'll be good if you're here, you'll be good if you're not.

• 35:57Ryan Clark?

  You know? It wasn't the.

• 36:00Ryan Clark?

  You got some things going on, let me fly out, come talk to you face to face, that he's done for other people. So I think this company in a lot of ways. Has been showing me. You know, and finally now, here we are. I had a conversation over the summer.

• 36:22Ryan Clark?

  With Jeremy Lin, of all people.

• 36:27Ryan Clark?

  Kerry Chau, he used to work at ESPN, good friends with Jeremy Lin. Called me and he's like, hey, can I give Jeremy your number? He wants to talk about getting into business and you the best I know. You the blueprint. Okay. Having a conversation with Jeremy, he says, what's something, what's a piece of advice you can give me? I said, build relationships. I said, because you're going to need somebody to stand up for you sometimes.

• 36:59Ryan Clark?

  I said, don't think the work is just enough. And I said. If it's not a part of your being.

• 37:09Ryan Clark?

  Don't let people know where you stand socially or politically.

• 37:15Ryan Clark?

  If you don't feel like you have to stand up for people. That's not what's popular. That would put you in a space of the minority. That would in some way make you a threat. Then don't do it. If your job is more important than those things. Just be quiet. Because if you do. There could be opposition. And if you don't have the right relationships, you won't get through it. And I was like, and I'm dealing with that right now, man. I was like, I don't know if I'll be working in the fall. And he said, you? He's like, you're the best in the world. He's like, there's nobody better than you.

• 37:59Ryan Clark?

  And he goes, and in 2026? I said, in 2026, brother, that's where we are. It's just been so many things like that, that I think.

• 38:12Ryan Clark?

  I look back on throughout this situation and you wonder if it could have been different.

• 38:16Fred Taylor?

  Man, RC, I was trying to figure out who was going to pass who the tissue. I think all of us are crying.

• 38:22Ryan Clark?

  That was a tough one.

• 38:23Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, it was tough.

• 38:25Ryan Clark?

  I expected, I expected anger at RC, I ain't gonna lie. I expected you to snap. When we started asking you, I'd expect you to get emotional, man, you got me going.

• 38:34Fred Taylor?

  I think the beauty in what I'm hearing is.

• 38:38Fred Taylor?

  I think that's, that's what this show is, that's what, you know, the pivot, you know, why it was created for, for moments like this, moments of adversity, moments that test your resolve, that test your character, but also, you know, the togetherness, the community, banding with each other. And one thing I've noticed in the comments now becoming creeping. How many people are in support of you? But even on our trip from Baltimore to over here, just the amount of calls and texts, you know, the people that are reaching out to you. What do you have to say to, you know, to those people that have shown their support?

• 39:17Ryan Clark?

  I think first off, to anybody who's called or texted me, the thing they know is I've called or texted back.

• 39:26Ryan Clark?

  I am obligated through.

• 39:32Ryan Clark?

  The love I feel to make sure they know I'm grateful. Man, from current players to former players in every sport, to coaches, to entertainers and actors and comedians. Like, you don't, you don't know the, the reach or the relationships that you have or the way people feel about you when everything is going good. And I'm gonna put him out there because, and not even saying them, Isaiah Thomas.

• 40:09Ryan Clark?

  Pistons, Isaiah.

• 40:10Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 40:12Ryan Clark?

  Called me five times because we played a little phone tag. And he goes, he told me, he said, first of all, I want to tell you, I love you, I'm lifting you up. And he goes, and you, you won't hear from me all the time when it's going well, when you up. But I'll always be here when it's down. And he said, and you're gonna come back up again. And during that time, you might not hear from me. But just know, and that, and it meant the world to me, and that's not just him, but it was like, that's what you need. And it went from the NFL Live group chat to the Monday Night Countdown group chat,

• 40:51Ryan Clark?

  to friends, to family, to associates, to players I know, to slight acquaintances. And the stuff people have done for me publicly. The things people have said about me publicly. You know, all the time, man, like, when somebody's going through what I'm going through, and when it could be some of the reasons I'm going through it, like to stand up for me.

• 41:20Ryan Clark?

  People like, some people like I'd never met in person.

• 41:24Ryan Clark?

  Like I,

• 41:27Ryan Clark?

  I've never been a loner, right? Like I've always had friends and I've always supported people. But I've also always tried to be like, I'm gonna be good no matter what.

• 41:38Ryan Clark?

  And man, like I needed it. You know, like even though I felt it was coming. Like it's one thing to feel like it's coming, it's another thing to get fired.

• 41:48Ryan Clark?

  It's another thing for them to be like, we don't want you.

• 41:52Ryan Clark?

  You know? And it was just, and it's always just been very hard to hear that a person doesn't like me, who never tried to have a relationship with me. Who doesn't know me. I wasn't going in.

• 42:06Channing Crowder?

  My favorite one was, uh, was Shaq. You didn't understand what the hell he was saying, but. Hey, young boy, I don't know.

• 42:15Channing Crowder?

  But I knew it was love, though. I could tell it was love.

• 42:17Ryan Clark?

  I understood he loved me. Hey, hey, Chad, the one thing I understood was, I love you, brother. Like I, I, I understood that, man. And I do want to say though, too, man, to everybody, thank you so much.

• 42:31Ryan Clark?

  You don't know what your calls, your text messages, your DMs, your tweets, your threads. Just all of it, man. And like the thing I know is,

• 42:46Ryan Clark?

  this is the topic this week. Next week, it'll be less a topic. By the time the season starts, it'll probably be no topic. And I'll be sitting at home on the first Thursday of the season, or Friday, or especially the first Monday. You know, and I love football. So I'm gonna be watching the game. I'm probably be watching the pregame. And it's gonna be hard. You know?

• 43:15Ryan Clark?

  And like at that point, you know, everybody's life's gonna move on. And it should, right? Like I'm alive and I'm fine.

• 43:22Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 43:22Ryan Clark?

  You know, um, because this career is not over. So this is like a very weird thing I'm about to say probably.

• 43:31Ryan Clark?

  I know when football ends, it's like a death. Right?

• 43:38Ryan Clark?

  But

• 43:40Ryan Clark?

  it was like I got to say, hey, you guys can put me to sleep.

• 43:47Ryan Clark?

  Right? I was, I was able to say, guess what? I am ready to go.

• 43:54Ryan Clark?

  You know what I'm saying? This wasn't.

• 43:58Ryan Clark?

  Bro, like, I worked so hard at that. And I was like, man, I'm gonna, I'm gonna work at ESPN until I stop doing TV. I'd already had my plans that like I was gonna do some old man stuff. You know what I'm saying? Like, I wanted to be like Birm, like just pop in and be great. They go home. You know what I'm saying? Like that was my plan. And that can't be my plan no more.

• 44:25Ryan Clark?

  Everybody I ever worked with, behind the scenes, in front of the camera, to, obviously, NFL Live crew, to Stephen A., to the Dave McKinnons, the people at First Take, to Monday Night Countdown, Marcos, obviously, everybody I'm on the desk with, Eesh. Man, I love y'all so much, man.

• 44:49Ryan Clark?

  And it's like, I want to see everybody win. Like I want to see those shows flourish. I want to see y'all flourish. So it ain't no, like I'm not here like harboring no hate, man.

• 45:03Fred Taylor?

  RC, I know, man, um,

• 45:06Fred Taylor?

  this is your platform, obviously, we know this is where you would answer the question. But we've asked you enough questions. Actually, I have a question for the execs. I really want to know, is it all of the things that he's done for the company? All of the great things that he's done for a community that needs him? The leadership that he's shown? The people that he's defended?

• 45:27Fred Taylor?

  He's a black man in America. We know when black men are overly qualified, they become a threat. And for me, it pisses me off because I know how hard he works. I know how passionate he is. And to see somebody behind the scenes that can make this decision? And I don't want to taint this whole entire interview. But I think just like I want to know, everybody else wants to know, why? Why was Ryan Clark selected?

• 45:57Fred Taylor?

  It's just mind boggling. It doesn't make sense.

• 46:01Ryan Clark?

  You know,

• 46:03Ryan Clark?

  what that brings to mind is a speech my mom gave me when I was younger. She told me, you gotta work twice as hard. You gotta be twice as good. You gotta be twice as smart.

• 46:18Ryan Clark?

  And she said, even then, they may not pick you.

• 46:24Ryan Clark?

  I thought I had got to a point where I'd be picked.

• 46:30Ryan Clark?

  But I mean, it's, it's like I say, though. Just because I wasn't picked, that don't mean I ain't chosen. And, you know, I can't answer the question about why.

• 46:43Channing Crowder?

  RC, man, we love you. You know that too.

• 46:45Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 46:46Channing Crowder?

  But this doesn't define you, bro. What you did for DeMar, the DeMar Hamlin night, the Greg Brooks. And to be honest, man, I like the football side. I like you giving Dan O'Hell on that little dry race boy, whatever thing y'all got. I enjoy that stuff. I love football, but you are, you're one of the best at it.

• 47:01Ryan Clark?

  Yeah. The last thing I'll say before we go. One is I love y'all both.

• 47:06Channing Crowder?

  Thank you, brother.

• 47:07Ryan Clark?

  Like, I love y'all like brothers, so sometimes I don't like y'all.

• 47:11Channing Crowder?

  Sounds about right.

• 47:12Ryan Clark?

  Just being honest, like sometimes like, man, you know? And then there's sometimes like last weekend where I get to hang around y'all a lot. And I'm like, man, they are so cool in that capacity. I just really like being around them. You know, um, so thank you for this. For giving me this space to, to, to express this. I wanted to do it with y'all.

• 47:38Ryan Clark?

  When the thing happened with Peter, I didn't know

• 47:44Ryan Clark?

  what was next. I didn't know what people thought of me.

• 47:49Ryan Clark?

  And I'm not gonna say his name. But there's someone very high up at ESPN who doesn't say a lot. So much so, you really be feeling like he don't mess with you. I was in the trailer the first Monday night.

• 48:08Ryan Clark?

  Calls me out of the trailer. And I was like, oh,

• 48:12Ryan Clark?

  he finna be somebody else telling me how stupid I am, man.

• 48:17Ryan Clark?

  And he told me,

• 48:19Ryan Clark?

  he said, I don't know about everybody else. I don't know about every other show. I don't know what they gonna take you off. I don't know what they gonna put you on. I don't know about that.

• 48:28Ryan Clark?

  But you'll be on Monday Night Countdown. You'll work at halftime. You gonna finish every night with Scott. Because you the best we have.

• 48:43Ryan Clark?

  And I remember walking back to the trailer like skipping.

• 48:50Ryan Clark?

  You know what I'm saying? Because I was so down and I was hiding it. Because I was like, man, they gonna, like they gonna try to get me over this? Like do they even? And I just remember walking back and being like, he's right.

• 49:03Ryan Clark?

  I am actually the best.

• 49:07Ryan Clark?

  And to you, and you know who you are, I'm not sure, you'll watch it, thank you. Because as I walk away,

• 49:16Ryan Clark?

  and I know certain narratives will be spun, certain lies will be told, certain clips will be played and compiled to make me seem like one thing over 12 years, where I did so much.

• 49:33Ryan Clark?

  Where I was nominated for three Emmys, where I won an Emmy, where shows this year, just in this alone, NFL Live, Monday Night Countdown, and E60 I was a part of. All were nominated for awards. Two of those trophies come home with me.

• 49:50Ryan Clark?

  When I'm on TV, they don't put four sports Emmys on there. They never did that for me. I just want to say, when I walk away, because of you, because of that conversation on Monday night, I walk away knowing that I was the best y'all had.

• 50:30Speaker 04

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now it's your time.

• 50:41Speaker 05

  Ask your prescriber about Wegovy. Some maglutide injection, 2.4 milligrams a GLP-1. Call 1-833-4-WEGOVIE or visit wegovie.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about Wegovy. Why wait?