The former Super Bowl champion turned broadcaster Ryan Clark is now facing a different kind of backlash. After 13 seasons in the NFL and a decade as one of the network’s most recognizable analysts, Clark’s claims surrounding his firing have drawn accusations that his words could make it harder for the next wave of Black broadcasters trying to break into sports TV. At least, that’s what former NFL player Breiden Fehoko believes.

“I feel bad for every young aspiring Black male or female trying to get on sports TV,” he wrote on X. “Ryan Clark shut that door and doubled down, saying he was fired for “being too black.” No, you were fired for thinking you were bigger than the system and how you disrespect people.”

Clark wasn’t cut out alone. He was let go alongside Karl Ravech, former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, and NFL insider Tom Pelissero.

He sat down on The Pivot, the podcast he runs with Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, and laid out his side of how it all went down after 12 years at ESPN. And he was clear about one thing: he wasn’t laid off like the others. He was fired. The former Steelers safety talked about feeling pressure to tone himself down to match what execs wanted from him.

“You know, man, like this show for three years, bro, we never shied away from any topic,” Clark said. “We never shied away from tackling anything. We did this year because I knew I couldn’t have no beef. I knew I couldn’t respond to disrespect. I knew, for lack of a better word, I knew I couldn’t be too Black.”

“What makes me sad is that even when I tried to adjust and become more of what certain people wanted, I was still fired.”

Clark also brought up standing behind Kyren Lacy and Angel Reese, saying those moments didn’t sit well with certain people higher up, and that it eventually caught up with him.

Not everyone’s buying that version of events, though. Fehoko pushed back, framing it less about race and more about how Clark handled himself with others.

And according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, there was an on-air moment with Peter Schrager on Get Up last September that played into the firing decision, too. During a Dallas Cowboys discussion, Clark told Schrager his take came from “the non-player” in him.

Clark apologized afterward, and on The Pivot he insisted there’s no bad blood left between them.

“Me and Peter don’t have an issue,” he said. “I would think if you asked him right now, obviously after what went on with us, there’s been nobody that’s been nicer to him.”

Whether that’s the full picture or not, it’s clearly how Clark sees it.