When Ryan Clark inserted himself into the sudden beef triangle that sprouted up last week between Cam Newton, Stephen A. Smith, and Jason Whitlock, it added an extra layer of seriousness to the tensions among the First Take cast.
Clark is one of the longest-standing and most reliable panelists on Smith’s morning show, and his response to Newton’s decision to host Whitlock for an interview was sharply critical. When Clark wrote on X that “loyalty is at a minimum,” it was a not-so-subtle shot at Newton’s decision-making and perhaps a warning for Newton not to bite the hand (Smith’s) that feeds him.
Whitlock and Smith have long gone back and forth with vicious barbs stemming from a troubled past as colleagues, and Whitlock took the opportunity of appearing on Newton’s 4th and 1 show to challenge Smith’s biography and credibility.
But in response to Clark’s critiques, Newton said, “I’m going to do things how I want to do it. Respectfully. Don’t micro-manage me.” Newton also took issue with what he felt was Clark overstepping and policing his editorial decisions as an independent host.
So in the latest episode of his podcast, The Pivot, Clark addressed that criticism. Rather than double down on the drama between Newton, Smith, and Whitlock, the former Pittsburgh Steelers safety explained his perspective on the larger questions surrounding Newton’s decision to host Whitlock, including the problems with chasing online attention and how to conduct conversations with those who hold opposing viewpoints.
‘I don’t believe all content is good content. I don’t believe all publicity is good publicity,” Clark said.
“I don’t think we have to be gossipy, I don’t think we have to be messy, I don’t think we have to always be chaotic. I don’t always think that we have to create some level of drama. I don’t want to be that person. If that’s what I gotta be for you to like me, I’d rather not be liked.”
Clark and Pivot cohosts Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor all agreed that Whitlock is a bad actor who does not deserve a chance to explain his point of view. Taylor said that when he sees Whitlock, he does not even see a person, but merely someone solely dedicated to getting attention and creating conflict.
While Newton continues to dig his heels in over his role as an intermediary within that type of conflict, Clark laid out how The Pivot handles these sorts of decisions.
“I don’t want to platform evil. I don’t want to platform hate. I don’t want to platform dissension just because. I don’t want to be connected to that,” he said. “It doesn’t mean I don’t want to have conversations with people I don’t agree with, because you can do that. In this political climate, we’ve had many people on our show that we don’t necessarily agree with them politically and we’ve been able to have good conversations.”
Clark added that there is a difference between bringing someone onto a show who wants to insult others and create a firestorm versus allowing a guest to articulate their side of a news story.
In general, Clark said he wants The Pivot to publish purposeful conversations.
“To me, that’s what’s important,” he said. “That I’m never known for just saying silly, doing dumb stuff so people click on us and like us. I want to be impactful, I want to have a sense of integrity, I want to have a sense of loyalty. And that’s me. That’s what I want.”
This is not the first time that Clark has entered into viral conflicts that do not directly involve him. While he chose to back off in this case once Newton bristled against his argument, Clark would have had no reason to remind the audience of his editorial stance on The Pivot if not for his original insistence on entering into the Newton-Smith-Whitlock feud in the first place.
It would be one thing if Newton’s interview actually spilled over onto First Take, but in this case, Clark may once again be stuck between his desire to rise above viral drama and his own stubborn pursuit of attention.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.