He was there, and then he wasn’t.
Ryan Clark found out that he was being laid off by ESPN while he was doing “NFL Live,” The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported, adding another layer to the surprise development out of the Worldwide Leader.
Reports surfaced Monday evening that Clark would be let go as part of layoffs at the Disney-owned sports network, and that played into the decision to tell him while the program was going on.
The Athletic report noted that the network had been receiving requests for comment regarding reports about Clark being laid off, and a source told the outlet that ESPN was concerned it would break before they could inform him.
Originally, ESPN planned on notifying Clark about the decision Tuesday morning.
Clark had been on multiple ESPN programs on Monday, including a hit on “SportsCenter,” which was promoted on the show’s social media channel, as well as “NFL Live.”
The ex-NFL player did not appear on the full show on Monday, and during his final segment, Clark was discussing Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels using virtual reality to help his offseason training.
“The one thing I remember was when he transferred from Arizona State to LSU, he started using virtual reality here,” Clark said. “And people said that was a big part of him being able to process more quickly and get the football out of his hands. … I think this is something that he’s comfortable with, but he’s also acknowledging that he has to get better.”
ESPN has not publicly commented on the decision to lay off Clark, who was reportedly making over $2 million per year at the network.
Clark has been with ESPN for more than a decade, but it would appear that execs at the Worldwide Leader have become less thrilled with him, with one sticking point being an incident between himself and Peter Schrager that happened last season.
The incident made headlines when Clark seemed to go after Schrager as he was defending the play of Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb after the first game of the season, leading to Clark saying to Schrager, “That’s the non-player in you.”
Schrager then asked for Clark not to talk down to his opinion like that and acknowledge other perspectives, while Clark responded to that by saying, “Peter, what I need for you to do is not get mad and let me finish.”
Clark apologized on social media later in the day.
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