Outkick founder Clay Travis didn't hold back on Ryan Clark after the ESPN analyst claimed Lamar Jackson deserves the NFL MVP award over Josh Allen as he has “evolved” what it means to be a quarterback black.
On Friday, the panel on ESPN's flagship show First Take discussed the MVP race, where Clark praised Jackson for surpassing Michael Vick for most rushing yards by a quarterback.
However, Outkick Bobby Burack wrote about how Clark claimed the Ravens star changed positions while being the “NFL's most underrated quarterback” as a panel of black analysts agreed.
Reposting his story on X, Travis criticized Clark for his approach to the MVP debate.
“Ryan Clark is basically Carlton without the killer dance moves or likability,” he said. “He's desperately insecure and uses race as a shield to mask his horrible insecurities. It's honestly sad to see.”
“His bosses are mostly white guys and they're terrified of being called racist for firing him, so they keep him employed even though he's not very talented and doesn't offer anything of particular value,” Travis continued.
'Was there a time when race negatively affected your success in America? Yes. Was Ryan Clark an adult at any of those times? No. Now take advantage of the legacy of racism to continue working,” he added. 'Once again, it's sad to see. ESPN should be better than this. Hell, sports should do it.
Clay Travis accused ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark of using race to 'mask his insecurities'
Travis attacked Clark online after his opinion on the NFL MVP race on Friday morning.
The two-time MVP has the edge over Allen in most statistics this season. Jackson has more passing yards (3,955-3,549), passing touchdowns (39-26) and rushing yards (852-514).
While the Buffalo Bills quarterback only has the most rushing touchdowns at 11-4, ESPN Bet has Allen as a -225 favorite to win the award.
Aside from his previous takes, Clark also alluded to Steve Nash winning two NBA MVPs when “Kobe Bryant was the best player in the league.”
Travis wasn't the only sports media personality to criticize Clark and ESPN after Friday's first take.
After Burack compared the Jackson-Allen debate to Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark's conversations earlier this year, Jason Whitlock chimed in with an NBA comparison.
“You forgot about Jokic vs. Embiid,” he said. 'I'm not sure if the conversations would be very different if you added color. Everyone is afraid of being labeled a traitor or racist on social media.
“You set up conversations with a weak host (the least informed and least credible person on the panel) who lives in fear of social media backlash, and then you let nature (the social media matrix) control the conversation,” he continued. Whitlock. “You can't have a tough conversation when the host thinks your tweets and posts break bones.” metro