ESPN’s decision to lay off Ryan Clark quickly became one of the biggest media stories of the NFL offseason. The network moved on from Clark after more than a decade, and the Super Bowl champion has been outspoken about the breakup.
The situation also sparked a public back-and-forth between OutKick reporter Bobby Burack and former ESPN star Jemele Hill.
Ryan Clark’s ESPN Exit Sparks Beef Between Reporter Bobby Burack, Jemele Hill
Burack recently posted on X, claiming that Hill had openly said she was waiting for the day he lost his job.
“Jemele Hill brought me up again on her live stream over my Ryan Clark reporting, a story that doesn’t involve her, saying she is counting down the days until I’m fired,” he wrote. “She then blocked me before I could respond. Weird behavior.”
The whole dispute started from Burack’s original report that ESPN was laying off Clark.
He reported that Clark had become a “headache” because of several public controversies, including an on-air clash with fellow ESPN personality Peter Schrager where he dismissed his take since he didn’t play in the NFL.
Soon after Clark was laid off, Hill defended her former colleague while questioning OutKick’s role in the story. She suggested someone inside ESPN may have intentionally shared the news with the outlet to push a certain narrative.
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“If someone from inside of ESPN gave Outkick the story about Ryan being let go, then that feels more nefarious to me,” she said. “It feels more nefarious, because it feels like they’re trying to create a narrative.”
In an article on her site, Hill added that it felt like ESPN was trying to “score some cheap political points with conservative media” by leaking the news to Outkick.
“It felt like somebody at ESPN wanted to make sure that Ryan wasn’t just fired, but embarrassed,” Hill wrote. “Outkick constantly bashes Black athletes, journalists and sports analysts (myself included)… I truly hate bringing attention to Outkick but it’s a racist publication, and if there was any media site that would gladly dance on Ryan’s professional grave, it was that one.”
Burack then responded, clarifying that he has several sources within and outside of ESPN.
“Jemele Hill did a two-hour live stream speculating ‘how’ I got the scoop and then said she ‘can’t wait’ until I am fired and ‘will laugh so hard she needs to go to the hospital.’ I have these people so triggered right now,” he wrote on X. “And TBH, I didn’t even try. I just reported a story.”
Burack and Hill are on opposite sides of the spectrum politically, and this isn’t the first time they have butted heads. It likely won’t be the last time, either.
