‘I Couldn’t Be Too Black’: Ryan Clark’s ESPN Firing Isn’t Rare
· Yahoo Sports
Anchor Ryan Clark was fired from ESPN during a live broadcast of his NFL Live show.
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Getty ImagesRecently, anchor Ryan Clark, 46, was fired from ESPN during a live broadcast of his NFL Live show. Many critiqued ESPN’s decision to fire Clark mid-show, but the network defended its decision, citing fears that Clark would find out the news through the grapevine. In an episode of The Pivot Podcast post-firing, Clark claims he adjusted who he was to keep his job at ESPN, specifically stating that he felt he couldn’t be “too Black.”
ESPN declined an official comment regarding these claims, directing Forbes to a memo Chairman Jimmy Pitaro sent to employees on July 21 that stated the following: “Over the past several months, we've made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN. Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today. While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition. Even in moments like these, the strength of ESPN comes from our people, our teamwork and our shared mission to serve sports fans.”