- May 21, 2026
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ESPN took the extremely ungracious step of informing NFL analyst Ryan Clark that he was being laid off while on the air. (At least it happened during a break.) Clark has opted to be far more gracious in his first public comment on the move.
"Sending prayers and love to all those laid off today by ESPN," Clark tweeted. "So many of you have poured your life into that company, & I know how you’re feeling right now. My hope is as this door closes another opens for you all. God bless!"
It really was a crappy, amateurish, Mickey Mouse move (which as to the last part technically is on brand). If, as has been reported, the goal was to prevent Clark from finding out about his fate from media reports, that's still better than telling him about it while he was ON THE AIR.
Think about what that does to every ESPN employee who is on the air today, and for the foreseeable future. Logic suggests they won't do it again. But logic goes out the window when the mind wanders about the possibility that what happened to Clark will happen to them.
At least one other person who has been targeted for layoff found out, we're told, from a member of the media and not from ESPN.
This means that the S.S. Bristol is way too leaky. Someone who knows what's going to happen has been currying favor with media reporters by sharing information that should be kept confidential.
Whoever is doing it is being a horrible teammate, and it is creating the impression that they're all playing for a horrible team.
"Sending prayers and love to all those laid off today by ESPN," Clark tweeted. "So many of you have poured your life into that company, & I know how you’re feeling right now. My hope is as this door closes another opens for you all. God bless!"
It really was a crappy, amateurish, Mickey Mouse move (which as to the last part technically is on brand). If, as has been reported, the goal was to prevent Clark from finding out about his fate from media reports, that's still better than telling him about it while he was ON THE AIR.
Think about what that does to every ESPN employee who is on the air today, and for the foreseeable future. Logic suggests they won't do it again. But logic goes out the window when the mind wanders about the possibility that what happened to Clark will happen to them.
At least one other person who has been targeted for layoff found out, we're told, from a member of the media and not from ESPN.
This means that the S.S. Bristol is way too leaky. Someone who knows what's going to happen has been currying favor with media reporters by sharing information that should be kept confidential.
Whoever is doing it is being a horrible teammate, and it is creating the impression that they're all playing for a horrible team.