{"id":4002,"date":"2026-07-22T09:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T09:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationwideinterstatemovers.com\/?p=4002"},"modified":"2026-07-22T09:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T09:10:09","slug":"stephen-a-smith-slams-espn-for-firing-star-mid-broadcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationwideinterstatemovers.com\/?p=4002","title":{"rendered":"Stephen A. Smith Slams ESPN for Firing Star Mid-Broadcast"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<p>Stephen A. Smithsays he\u2019s barely keeping a lid on his anger after fellow ESPN commentator Ryan Clark was fired by the network during a live broadcast. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nationwideinterstatemovers.com\/?p=4000\">Former Fox News Star Threatens to Tell All<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a rough day\u2014rough day to say the least\u2014working at ESPN,\u201d Smith said in a YouTube video on his \u201chonest thoughts\u201d about Clark\u2019s firing.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Clark was told that he was being let go during Monday\u2019s broadcast of <i>NFL Live<\/i>, sources told The Athletic. The 46-year-old anchor subsequently did not finish the program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Smith said that he made it \u201cvery, very clear\u201d to his \u201cbosses\u201d that he was unhappy about Clark\u2019s firing.<\/p>\n<p>Describing Clark as \u201carguably the best NFL analyst in America,\u201d as well as \u201ca friend and a brother,\u201d Smith said he had been fighting the urge to lash out at people spreading \u201cnarratives\u201d about the former Pittsburgh Steelers safety. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the last few hours, I had to really, really refrain\u2014damn, they 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 the 58-year-old host said. \u201cWhen I saw how people were talking about him, I was like, they don\u2019t know him at all.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>He later added, \u201cI just wish that I could have been in enough of an influential or powerful position to prevent his exit from happening,\u201d while conceding, \u201cBusiness is business.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>ESPN declined to comment. <\/p>\n<p>Sources told The Athletic that ESPN had planned to fire Clark on Tuesday, but chose to inform him during Monday\u2019s live broadcast out of fear that news of his departure would leak and that he would learn about it online. <\/p>\n<p>Clark joined ESPN as an analyst in March 2015 and was making more than $2 million a year, according to sources. <\/p>\n<p>His job was allegedly in jeopardy since February\u2019s Super Bowl, and ESPN executives had soured on him after incidents with colleague Peter Schrager, both on and off the air. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nationwideinterstatemovers.com\/?p=3998\">Trump, 80, Melts Down With Bonkers War Dead Comparison<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In September 2025, Clark and Schrager had a viral on-air spat on ESPN\u2019s <i>Get Up<\/i>, after Schrager defended Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.<\/p>\n<p>Clark told his colleague while pointing a finger, \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t do this on TV, so I apologize if people think this is rude: that\u2019s the non-player in you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schrager responded by asking Clark not to \u201cbelittle\u201d him to allow him to voice other perspectives. Clark said in turn, \u201cPeter, what I need for you to do is not get mad and let me finish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Clark, who won a \u201cSports Emmy for Outstanding Personality\/Studio Analyst\u201d in 2023, later posted an apology on X, writing, \u201cToday, I had an interaction with my colleague @PSchrags both on and off the air that I regret. I have apologized to Peter and taken accountability with ESPN leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith defended Clark\u2019s personality in his video, saying, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing that he\u2019d say on social media or on television that he wouldn\u2019t tell you to your face if that\u2019s how he felt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes that mean he was perfect? No. Does that mean he was right all the time? No,\u201d Smith continued. \u201cBut he was conscientious, and he was thoughtful. And he\u2019s not somebody that I just loved working with; he\u2019s somebody that I love, period.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ESPN carried out further layoffs on Tuesday as a part of broader cuts at Disney, ESPN\u2019s parent company, firing baseball commentator Karl Ravech, NFL insider Tom Pelissero, and former NFL star Cam Newton, according to The Athletic. <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><i>Obsessed with pop culture and entertainment? Follow us on <\/i><i>Substack<\/i><i> and <\/i><i>YouTube<\/i><i> for even more coverage.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nationwideinterstatemovers.com\/?p=3997\">Lindsey Graham\u2019s Sister\u2019s Very Intriguing Donation Revealed<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stephen A. Smithsays he\u2019s barely keeping a lid on his anger after fellow ESPN commentator Ryan Clark was fired by the network during a live broadcast. Read more Former Fox News Star Threatens to Tell All \u201cIt\u2019s a rough day\u2014rough day to say the least\u2014working at ESPN,\u201d Smith said in a YouTube video on his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Stephen A. 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