From Newsweek · Cameron Kiszla · · 1m 10s
Ryan Clark on getting fired from ESPN mid-show
The former NFL analyst reveals how his public layoff pushed him to launch his own sports show.
In brief
The former NFL analyst reveals how his public layoff pushed him to launch his own sports show. Sometimes losing your job unlocks the courage to take risks you'd never have taken otherwise. Originally reported by Newsweek.
Fired during a commercial break
Ryan Clark learned he was being let go from ESPN during a break on NFL Live. He never returned to the set after getting the news.
The layoff unlocked his fear
Clark admits he wouldn't have started his own show without being fired. The intimidation and unknowns kept him from taking the leap before.
“Without that layoff at ESPN, I don't believe, to be honest with you, that I ever take this step.”
Not about revenge or regret
His new show, The Pivot Sports, isn't about winning against ESPN. Clark says the tone is triumphant but not about lamenting what he lost.
“It's not even in the sense that I've won, but more that I'm not lamenting what was lost.”
Like hearing your own eulogy
Players, coaches and executives across the NFL reached out after his firing. Clark compared it to hearing people declare their support in real time.
His real fear now
Clark isn't worried the show won't work. He's afraid he'll hold onto pieces of his ESPN experience and still not feel content even if it succeeds.
“My fear is that I will hold on to pieces of that last experience, both good and bad, and that this works in an amazing way, and I'm still not content.”
What it means
Sometimes losing your job unlocks the courage to take risks you'd never have taken otherwise.
