{"id":5051,"date":"2026-07-21T23:09:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T23:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5051"},"modified":"2026-07-21T23:09:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T23:09:59","slug":"stephen-a-smith-not-happy-with-ryan-clark-firing-as-he-has-warning-for-espn-colleagues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5051","title":{"rendered":"Stephen A. Smith ‘not happy’ with Ryan Clark firing as he has warning for ESPN colleagues"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

ESPN\u2019s Stephen A. Smith responded to the firing of Ryan Clark and is \u201cnot happy about this decision one bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Crazed army veteran who set fire outside NYC ICE HQ eyed other Big Apple sites first: feds<\/a><\/p>\n

A longtime ESPN NFL analyst, Clark was fired while on Monday\u2019s \u201cNFL Live\u201d during a break in the show as a part of a large round of layoffs.<\/p>\n

ESPN executives didn\u2019t want Clark to hear from a different source, so chose to tell him during the show on Monday. He did not return after the break. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know all those details and to be quite honest with you, I don\u2019t care,\u201d Smith said on his YouTube channel. \u201cWhat I care about is my brother Ryan Clark. A person that I consider to be arguably the best NFL analyst in America, is no longer a member of ESPN.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t even tell y\u2019all how much that hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clark and Smith worked together often on ESPN\u2019s \u201cFirst Take\u201d and Smith said he always loved the debates with the former NFL player.<\/p>\n

Smith said that he made it \u201cvery clear\u201d to his bosses that he was not happy with the decision.<\/p>\n

He also said that ESPN consulted him about the firing of Clark, and he told them \u201cwe have to keep him,\u201d but the \u201cfiscal and financial circumstances\u201d are up to someone else.<\/p>\n

Read more Patrick Mahomes shockingly set to be \u2018fully cleared\u2019 seven months after tearing ACL<\/a><\/p>\n

Smith also addressed the public\u2019s reaction to Clark and ESPN parting ways. He said he\u2019s had a refrain a lot from responding to people spreading false information.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn near got blisters on my tongue and my fingers from biting my tongue and biting my fingers from refraining from going after folks when I saw how people were talking about him,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThey don\u2019t know him at all. They don\u2019t know him at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith continued that he may disagree with ESPN but he will not insult his employers. He said the days of ESPN hiring whoever they want whenever they want are \u201clong gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

He warned that there are going to be more names fired on Tuesday and in the future, saying he might be next, citing when he was fired by ESPN in 2009.<\/p>\n

Clark was just one of many laid off from ESPN today, notably joined by Cam Newton, Karl Ravech, Bart Scott and Tom Pelissero.<\/p>\n

\u201cSending prayers and love to all those laid off today by ESPN,\u201d Clark wrote about the layoffs on X. \u201cSo many of you have poured your life into that company, & I know how you\u2019re feeling right now. My hope is as this door closes another opens for you all. God bless!\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Ryan Clark breaks silence on \u2018madness\u2019 of shock ESPN layoff<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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