Former NFL safety turned ESPN personality Ryan Clark issued an apology to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after a lengthy back and forth between the two that stemmed from some comments from Clark criticizing the physique of Tagovailoa.
Clark took part in a segment on Monday’s edition of NFL Live where they discussed Tagovailoa’s preseason debut. Things quickly got pretty personal coming from Clark, essentially calling Tagovailoa fat and seemingly questioning his offseason training regimen.
“I’m gonna tell you what he wasn’t doing, he wasn’t in the gym. I’ll bet you that. He might have spent a lot of time in the tattoo parlor. He was not at the dinner table eating what the nutritionist had advised. He looks happy. He is thick. He’s built like a girl working at Onyx [Gentleman’s Club] in Atlanta right on the bottom.”
If Clark’s rather unprofessional comments towards Clark weren’t bad enough, everyone else on the set including former NFL players Dan Orlovsky and Marcus Sears then began to laugh at Tagovailoa’s expense.
This rough criticism from Clark led to Tagovailoa having to answer questions about Clark’s comments at a press conference on Wednesday, where he told Clark to “keep my name out of your mouth” and was clearly upset with the lack of respect coming from Clark.
Tua Tagovailoa with some strong words to ESPN’s Ryan Clark and his criticism that Tua didn’t seem to train well in offseason. He ends saying:
“I’d appreciate if you kept my name out your mouth. That’s what I’d say.” pic.twitter.com/UrZpZsO1I0
— Will Manso (@WillManso) August 23, 2023
Most agreed that Clark was in the wrong in this situation for questioning a player’s physique while no longer being in the league himself. And it seems that even Clark realizes that he may have gone overboard with his comments, issuing a public apology on Twitter on Thursday.
“Yesterday Tua Tagovialoa had to answer questions about something I said on Monday. On something that I truly just thought was a joke to me. But I realized that if this man has to answer questions about it. If so many Miami Dolphins fans are offended by it, then people aren’t taking it as a joke. So let me be very clear. If I have offended you Tua, if I have hurt you, if I have disrespected you, I truly apologize.
When I decided to do TV I had 2 main priorities.
1. Respect all NFL players, coaches, executives and staff members.
2. Earn and keep the respect of those very same people.
Those priorities are important to me, and when I miss that mark, I have to hold myself accountable.… pic.twitter.com/YgZfcNPN8G
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) August 24, 2023
Clark then took accountability for what he calls a “bad joke”, and promised that he would be better moving forward.
“To the Miami Dolphins, to head coach Mike McDaniels who I have a ton of respect for, and especially to Tua Tagovailoa, I deeply apologize. I have reached out, I hope to talk to you soon brother. But just know, I wasn’t questioning how you work. I wasn’t questioning how much it mattered to you. It was what I can consider now a bad joke. But for me, it has been a lesson, I’ll be better.”
