Months before ESPN let him go during a commercial break on “NFL Live,” Ryan Clark was ready to leave on his own. He had a “First Take” appearance on his schedule, and he says ESPN told him he couldn’t work until he apologized for what he’d said about former LSU receiver Kyren Lacy.

Clark thought he’d made up his mind. Then he went for a walk with his wife, Yonka.

Ryan Clark Says ESPN Made an Apology a Condition of Working

Speaking with Matt Barnes on “All the Smoke,” Clark recalled asking Scott Van Pelt at halftime of a “Monday Night Football” game if he could talk about Lacy on the postgame “SportsCenter.” Clark knew Lacy personally and wanted to address footage released by Lacy’s attorney. He said Van Pelt was comfortable giving him the time.

Clark used the segment to defend Lacy and declare him innocent. The next day, according to Clark, ESPN executive Dave Roberts called and asked him to apologize. Clark told Barnes he pushed back because he believed he had accurately described the information he was working from. With “First Take” coming up, he told Yonka he was prepared to quit.

“Because they told me that if I didn’t apologize, I couldn’t work,” Clark told Barnes. “And the next day, I was supposed to be on First Take. I said, ‘Babe, it’s not worth it to me to apologize for something that I just don’t feel like I’m wrong.’”

Yonka urged him to reconsider. “Boo, I don’t think this is the hill for you to die on,” Clark recalled her telling him.

He said he then asked ESPN’s public relations staff if he could write his own apology. According to Clark, the network initially wanted a written statement on social media. He wanted the chance to speak on air, as his colleagues had.

What Led to Clark’s ‘First Take’ Apology

The comments stemmed from a December 2024 crash in Louisiana that killed 78-year-old Herman Hall. Lacy was later charged with negligent homicide and other offenses but died in April 2025 before a scheduled grand jury proceeding.

His attorney subsequently released surveillance footage that he said showed Lacy’s car back in its lane and about 72 yards behind the collision when it occurred, footage Clark referenced during the October broadcast.

Louisiana State Police later released additional video, witness statements, and investigative records while maintaining that Lacy’s earlier driving had triggered the chain of events that led to the crash. A later Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office report, however, identified inconsistencies in the State Police investigation and said the evidence did not support that Lacy should have known his actions caused the collision.

Clark apologized on “First Take” on Oct. 9, 2025. He told viewers he knew Lacy personally and said he had fallen short of presenting the complete story. Van Pelt also apologized for the initial segment.

Clark stayed at ESPN until July 20, 2026, when the network told him it was letting him go during “NFL Live.” He latergave his account of that departure on “The Pivot”, describing it as a firing amid a broader round of layoffs.

The interview with Barnes fills in what viewers couldn’t see during that October apology. Before Clark sat down on “First Take” and took responsibility for the segment, he’d gone home prepared to give up his job.