Fired ESPN star Ryan Clark claims he was forced off the air mid-show

Fired ESPN analyst Ryan Clark has hit back at the reported details of his dismissal at the cable giant.

Clark, 46, was let go earlier this week as part of another wave of layoffs at ESPN. According to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, the retired defensive back was actually dismissed during a recording of NFL Live, prompting him to drop his satellite feed early. The last 10 minutes of the show did not include the former Pittsburgh Steelers safety.

Since then, TMZ has reported that Clark was going to be notified Tuesday about his dismissal, but the network became aware of an impending story on the news and decided to tell him during Monday's NFL Live recording.

Clark and ESPN agreed it was better for him not to complete the episode, according to TMZ, which stressed that he was not forced off the air.

However, Clark is now disputing that version of events.

'I wasn't forced?' he asked rhetorically in a Wednesday post on X. 'I ask, 'should I be done now?'

'The answer was 'yes,' he added.

The Daily Mail has sought comment from ESPN.

While some ESPN viewers have celebrated the firing of Clark, who was outspoken on racial issues in sports, his long-time co-host Stephen A. Smith rushed to his defense on Tuesday.

'It hurts. It really does,' the $21m-a-year ESPN star said about Clark, who regularly appeared on Smith's morning show, First Take.

'I understand the business. I understand layoffs come. I understand that there have been other names that have been a part of it in the past and there's going to be names in the future. Hell, one of them might be mine.'

'I am not happy about this decision one bit. The bosses know I'm not happy about this decision. I've made that very very clear.

'But it's also important that myself and anybody else in the world of business be grown-ups and understand that these are the kind of things that happen when layoffs happen.'

Smith claimed that ESPN consulted him about parting company with Clark – a move he said he urged the network not to make.

He also said he has 'blisters on my tongue and my fingers from biting my tongue' after seeing people commending ESPN's decision to let Clark go.

But the First Take host concluded his rant by tipping Clark to bounce back from this disappointment.

'I'm not sorry for you because I know you going to be just fine,' Smith said. 'I'm sorry for us that we ain't gonna have the opportunity to continue to have you on the airwaves for ESPN and specifically First Take. It ain't going to be the same without you.'

As well as Clark, former NFL MVP Cam Newton is another casualty of ESPN's cuts after losing his job on First Take less than a year after being handed a contract extension.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, which was recently acquired by ESPN, is also being let go, as are longtime sports host and play-by-play baseball commentator Karl Ravech, ex-linebacker Bart Scott, NFL analyst Charles Davis, SportsCenter icon David Lloyd and injury expert Stephania Bell.