ESPN's Ryan Clark skewers "hypocrite" Aaron Rodgers after Jets QB hits back with "vax status" jab
The war of words between New York Jets superstar Aaron Rodgers and ESPN analyst Ryan Clark continues. It began when Rodgers claimed on "The Pat McAfee Show" that former players turned analysts often rely on controversial opinions to elevate their profiles beyond what they achieved during their playing careers.
Clark slammed the four-time MVP, calling him a "hypocrite." He argued that Rodgers accepting money to appear weekly on McAfee's show and share his views about the league and other topics was no different from being an analyst.
Rodgers fired back at Clark without naming him during his appearance on McAfee's show this week. He asked analysts to state their vaccination status and pronouns before criticizing him. He suggested that he was being targeted on sports talk shows because of his outspoken views on the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine and his refusal to take it.
Clark addressed the accusation in a lengthy rant on X (formerly Twitter), claiming the Jets quarterback only received backlash for trying to mislead reporters by suggesting he had taken the vaccine. Clark said:
"The only reason we spoke about it then was based on your vaccination status, it was going to determine how long you were out. And also people didn’t care that you weren’t vaccinated, they cared that you were slimy about it," Clark said (2:40 mark onwards).
"They cared that you were deceitful about it. And they cared that you had this air of arrogance when answering the questions about it."
Ryan Clark vs. Aaron Rodgers beef: Analyst slams QB's poor play
The analyst circled back to the Jets' 4-10 record and said that as an analyst, it was his duty to critique Aaron Rodgers for failing to lead the team to a playoff berth. He said:
"Let me be very very clear. My job is to analyze you... And in analyzing you, what I know is your QBR is 21st. I also know that you’re the quarterback of a 4-10 team that has to win the last three games of the season to even be equal to what last year’s team was without you." (from 3:08 to 3:29)
Clark added that he intends to continue calling things as he sees them, vowing to hold Rodgers accountable if his play doesn’t improve:
"You get on the [Pat McAfee] show and you talk about my broach and you curse and all this tough talk. I just need you to know, none of that scares me. I’m gonna do my job the way I’m supposed to do it." [From 3:30 to 3:48]
Rodgers and the Jets will be in action Sunday against the LA Rams, looking to win back-to-back games for only the second time this season.