Marcellus Wiley and Ryan Clark Image edited by Liam McGuire

If you’re looking for some counter-programming while patiently waiting for the NFL playoffs to return on Championship Sunday, look no further than the brewing feud between Marcellus Wiley and Ryan Clark.

On his Tuesday podcast, Wiley played a clip from ESPN’s Get Up during last season’s NFL playoffs featuring Clark calling out Josh Allen after the Buffalo Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. In the clip, Clark said “At some point, Josh Allen is going to have to beat the other great quarterbacks in the AFC,” declining to give the Bills quarterback any excuses. Wiley then shared Clark’s social media post about Lamar Jackson after the Baltimore Ravens lost to Allen and the Buffalo Bills this past weekend.


After determining Clark gave Jackson a softer landing spot than the one he gave Allen last season, Wiley accused the ESPN NFL analyst of race baiting. In defense of Clark, he did first praise Allen for doing “everything he had to do to win the game” before posting about Jackson.


“Do you all see the difference in tone and intention of RC after a Lamar Jackson loss with good numbers, versus a Josh Allen when he loses with good numbers?” Wiley asked. “This is to point out the hypocrisy, the race baiting of Ryan Clark.”

Clark saw the clip, or at least the title of the clip from Wiley on YouTube which was, “Ryan Clark Caught Blatantly Race Baiting the Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen Debate!” and he responded.


The response sparked a back and forth on X, leading to another YouTube clip of Wiley discussing Clark and calling out his “hypocrisy.” And as Wiley seems intent on allowing their feud to play-out in public through social media, Clark claims he keeps attempting to have a direct conversation.


Both parties in this feud seem to have a reasonable argument. Wiley is commenting on things that Clark has said in public, either on TV or in social media posts. ESPN broadcasts Clark’s takes and opinions every day, often amplifying them on social media to welcome engagement on those takes and opinions. Wiley is now using his YouTube show to engage with those takes and opinions. This wasn’t Wiley divulging personal information or discussing anything that wasn’t already available to the public.

Clark, however, feels Wiley is purposely misrepresenting those takes and opinions to keep driving traffic to his YouTube page, which already has more than 300,000 subscribers. To clear up any misconceptions, Clark is willing to have a conversation and offered to have the talk privately or publicly on Wiley’s show. And if Wiley is going to accuse someone of race baiting, giving them an opportunity to discuss their stance would seem reasonable.

About Brandon Contes

Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com