Stephen A. Smith is blowing his top after ESPN cold-bloodedly axed his friend, Ryan Clark.
OutKick first confirmed the details of Clark’s exit, revealing that executives pulled the plug on the Super Bowl champion while he was actively co-hosting “NFL Live” on live television.
After learning The Mothership had tossed his broadcast partner into the corporate meat grinder, Smith went straight to his YouTube show and let it rip.
ESPN PARTING WAYS WITH NFL ANALYST RYAN CLARK AHEAD OF NETWORK’S FIRST SUPER BOWL BROADCAST
“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,” a visibly distraught Smith told his online audience.
“And I can’t even tell y’all how much that hurts.”
Network brass originally planned to notify the gridiron star on Tuesday.
However, after OutKick’s very own Dan Zaksheske and Bobby Burack contacted ESPN PR about an impending story detailing the dismissal, executives rushed to yank Clark off the broadcast so he would not read about his firing on social media.
EXCLUSIVE: ESPN TO PART WAYS WITH CAM NEWTON AS PART OF TALENT LAYOFFS THAT ALSO INCLUDED RYAN CLARK
Smith revealed that Bristol management actually approached him before pulling the trigger on Clark.
Yet, despite Smith being the ratings magnet on the network, his pleas to protect his colleague were ignored.
“Was I asked what I thought what my feelings were? Yes, I was,” Smith admitted during his stream. “Of course I said we have to keep them. But I don’t get to make those decisions. And I don’t get to ignore the fiscal and financial circumstances and ultimate ramifications that come with the job.”
Smith made it clear that he confronted top bosses directly.
ESPN LOSES SOLE EXECUTIVE WHO CRACKED DOWN ON POLITICAL, RACIAL RHETORIC
“I am not happy about this decision one bit. The bosses know I am not happy about this decision,” Smith declared.
“I’ve made that very, very clear. The only thing that I can definitively say to you is that there’s nobody that’s going to be let go that was more of a friend and a brother to me than Ryan Clark.”
“When I saw how people were talking about him, I was like, ‘They don’t know him at all,'” Smith fumed. “He was conscientious and thoughtful.”
Even as he voiced his disapproval, Smith conceded that executives operating at the direction of parent company Disney ultimately answer to the bottom line.
“Decisions like this, I would imagine, don’t come easy. They have to be made… Business is business,” Smith acknowledged.
“It’s Tuesday, and by the end of the day you’re going to hear about a lot more folks getting laid off. For all I know, some of my friends are going to be gone.”
Clark’s tenure at ESPN also came with no shortage of controversy. He drew backlash for comments following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, came under scrutiny for his handling of Kyren Lacy’s death, and sparred on air with fellow analyst Peter Schrager, dismissing him as a “non-player.”
SAS signed off his broadcast with an emotional personal message directly to his ousted partner.
“Love you bro, you know that. Always, always here,” Smith said. “Talk to you soon.”
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
