Even on the first Monday of the NFL season, Ryan Clark’s attempt to discredit Peter Schrager as an NFL analyst because he isn’t a former player is still attracting plenty of attention.
That included on Monday’s episode of Wake Up Barstool, in which Dave Portnoy took aim at the former Pittsburgh Steelers safety.
Portnoy’s comments on Barstool Sports’ daily FS1 morning show came during a conversation about the Buffalo Bills’ comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. After former NBA point guard Jason Williams stated that he doesn’t place his own analysis on a pedestal compared to others who haven’t played professional sports, the Barstool Sports founder seamlessly transitioned to the biggest sports media story on the weekend.
“That, of course, is a big debate. Ryan Clark went after Peter Schrager from [ESPN],” Portnoy said. “They got into debate about a game and Ryan Clark, who’s one of the all-time jerks in the history of mankind — he is a race-baiter. You can say that. ‘I don’t know if we can say this.’ He is. The only time he’s in the news is when he’s picking fights and then apologizing. But he yelled at Peter Schrager basically saying, ‘hey, shut up. You didn’t play football, you can’t talk.’
“I’ve never understood that. Like I get playing the game, but there’s a lot of morons who played the game. There’s a lot of bad GMs who played football. There’s a lot of bad coaches who played football, watching football, being around football, being around sports. So I appreciate you, J-Will, saying you didn’t have to play the game. Certainly not to have an opinion.”
Dave Portnoy on FS1: “Ryan Clark, who’s one of the all-time jerks in the history of mankind — he is a race-baiter, you can say that. He is. The only time he’s in the news is when he’s picking fights and then apologizing…” pic.twitter.com/7OoyoSfI3Z
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 8, 2025
This isn’t the first time Portnoy has called Clark a “race-baiter,” as the Boston native recently took issue with the ESPN analyst’s comments about him potentially appearing on the StudBudz Twitch channel. The Big Noon Kickoff star’s recent comments come amid a sea of criticism and jabs directed toward Clark for his criticism of Schrager, including one from even the president of the Los Angeles Rams.
As Portnoy alluded to, Clark’s apology regarding his comments and a previously unknown off-camera “interaction” came just a couple of months after he apologized for saying that Robert Griffin III couldn’t understand the challenges that Angel Reese faces because he’s married to a white woman. But while the former Pro Bowl safety found himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons during the NFL’s opening weekend, it doesn’t appear he’ll be punished by the Worldwide Leader in Sports, with The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reporting that he and Scharger will each appear on Monday afternoon’s episode of NFL Live together.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.