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Getting Fired Isn’t A National Thing… Full Stop

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I need somebody to help me understand something: why is everyone up in arms that Ryan Clark got fired mid-air yesterday?

Let me get personal for a second. I was fired this year. Let go by an employer back in May. Hired by a new one this month.

You know what I didn’t get? The kind of “support” Clark’s getting right now from other professionals in his field — guys like Emmanuel Acho.

Why not? Because my firing wasn’t a national news item blasted across every IT blog and industry outlet. And it shouldn’t have been.

Guess what — Clark’s firing from the Mouse in the House shouldn’t be that big a deal either. But it is. And that’s a problem for how the rest of us are supposed to process our own working lives.

Let me switch to my old media voice for a second, because this needs to be said plainly: Ryan Clark will not be the first big name fired from a media outlet in 2026. This happens far more regularly than people believe. Let me say it a little quieter for the folks in the back: Clark’s dismissal from ESPN isn’t newsworthy, because in an industry this dog-eat-dog, on-air and off-air talent gets let go constantly.

What actually bothers me more is that Acho knows this. He’s not new to being on-air talent. If anything, he should be one of the few Black media personalities coming at this from a different angle — one that isn’t aimed like an arrow at a potential future employer. I’ll be blunt: I’m surprised he went this route, especially given it’s been a minute since he’s had a seat at a major network himself.

But here we are, and here I am, taking the other side of what he’s saying.

Not seeing Clark on ESPN is going to take some getting used to. But on-air talent turns over constantly, especially on the biggest shows, for a mix of reasons the general public rarely understands. And honestly — why should they?

This Happens More Than People Think

If you need proof this is standard operating procedure and not some Clark-specific injustice, look no further than what happened in the 24 hours after his firing. Clark wasn’t a one-off — he was the first domino in a wave of ESPN/NFL Network cuts tied to the Disney-NFL Network integration. Confirmed or reported so far:

  • Karl Ravech — 33-year ESPN veteran, lead MLB play-by-play voice, called Dodgers-Phillies the night before he found out his job was at risk
  • David Lloyd — SportsCenter anchor since 1997
  • Stephania Bell — injury/fantasy analyst since 2008
  • Cam Newton — First Take star, cut despite just signing a new multi-year deal in summer 2025
  • Charles Davis — NFL Network analyst
  • Tom Pelissero — top NFL Network insider since 2017
  • Bart Scott — NYC radio host and NFL studio analyst
  • Andreas Hale — covered boxing, MMA, and pro wrestling for ESPN

ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro even sent a company-wide memo calling it part of “difficult decisions” tied to folding in NFL Network’s assets. That’s not a scandal. That’s a merger doing what mergers do.

And here’s the part that should really kill the outrage: this isn’t even new for ESPN. Their summer layoffs have basically become an annual tradition at this point — in past years, the network has cut Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Robert Griffin III, and Sam Ponder, among plenty of others nobody remembers a year later. This is a company that reliably trims its roster every summer as it wrestles with rights fees and the collapse of the cable bundle. Clark just happened to be this year’s headline name, cut in the most awkward possible way.

And if you zoom out further, on-air firings — even ones that happen live, in the middle of a broadcast — are practically a genre unto themselves:

  • A.J. Clemente was fired almost immediately after his very first live newscast in Bismarck, ND, in 2013, after cursing on air without realizing he was live.
  • Glen Kuiper, the A’s longtime TV voice, was fired in 2023 after a slur slipped out during a pregame show.
  • Thom Brennaman was fired by the Reds and Fox Sports in 2020 for a hot-mic slur — and didn’t work in a broadcast booth again for four years.
  • Robert Griffin III and Samantha Ponder were both cut by ESPN the same day in a straightforward cost-cutting move.
  • ESPN’s 2017 purge alone claimed more than 20 names, including Suzy Kolber, Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson, and Steve Young — during a year Disney posted strong profit growth.

None of those made the sustained national conversation Clark’s is making. The mechanics are the same. The reaction isn’t. That’s the actual story here — not that Clark got cut, but that we’ve decided this cut, specifically, deserves a different kind of outrage.

Life Isn’t Always Going to Give You the Heads Up

Life is rarely fair. You just have to be able to roll with the punches and be ready for the next opportunity.

If I am to be 100% honest about my own firing this past May, it’s not that I didn’t know my time was coming to an end. My problem was that I was relying on a false sense of comfort that my managers were going to ‘save me’ because I had been told I was a “high valued asset”. To clarify, all high-value assets can be replaced if the time and budget allow.

So when it comes to pride and what we like to perceive as “self-worth” to an employer, this pride we have as humans can be dangerous.

And maybe that’s why this firing is so public; because so many thought he was a high-value asset for the brand.

Clark won’t be out of the TV game for long. He’s that talented as an analyst.

What this should be is a lesson for the rest of us about our worth to our employer and to never get into a comfortable state.

Because in this life, anything and everything is possible, even when you think it isn’t plausible or possible.

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The “Killer Instinct” Narrative Around Wembanyama Is Premature

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Can we finally put the “killer instinct” narrative surrounding Victor Wembanyama to rest?

At this stage of his career, Wembanyama simply isn’t there yet—and that’s not a criticism. It’s reality.

When fans invoke the names of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, they often focus on the legendary competitive fire that defined both careers. What gets overlooked is that neither superstar carried that burden alone. Their greatness was amplified by teammates who embraced pressure and delivered in the biggest moments.

Jordan had Steve Kerr and a battle-tested supporting cast forged through years of playoff disappointment before breaking through. Kobe had Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, and veteran role players who repeatedly made championship-defining plays. Those teams didn’t develop championship DNA overnight. It took years of postseason failures before the “killer instinct” label became part of their identity.

The same principle applies throughout NBA history. Avery Johnson’s Spurs had Sean Elliott. Tony Parker’s championship teams relied heavily on players like Bruce Bowen and Brent Barry. Those groups experienced painful playoff exits before they became champions. Growth rarely happens in a straight line.

So let’s examine this game through that lens.

If Wembanyama is being cast as Batman, then who was Robin during the final four minutes? That’s the question supporters of this narrative should be asking.

Because what ultimately decided this game wasn’t a lack of killer instinct. It was a breakdown in team execution.

Three factors stand out:

1. Decision-Making in Winning Time

Forget the turnover everyone is talking about.

The more significant issue was offensive decision-making late in the game. The Spurs had already placed several Knicks players in foul trouble, yet there was little effort to consistently attack Karl-Anthony Towns or Josh Hart. More puzzling was the failure to relentlessly pound the ball inside when four New York starters were sitting on the bench.

Championship teams recognize advantages and exploit them. The Spurs failed to do that when it mattered most.

2. Missed Free Throws

There is no complicated analysis here.

Free throws are free points, and playoff basketball magnifies every missed opportunity. In close games, those misses become impossible to ignore.

3. Failure to Stop Runs

This has become a recurring issue.

The Spurs continue allowing opponents to string together momentum-changing runs without finding ways to disrupt them. It happened early in the game and surfaced again at critical moments. Good teams survive adversity. Great teams halt momentum before it becomes decisive.

The Spurs haven’t consistently done that yet.

And that’s the point.

Everyone knows why this game was lost. But elevating the conversation to questions of greatness or killer instinct for a player in his third season, while his team trails 0-2, ignores the historical reality of how championship players and championship teams are built.

Jordan endured years of playoff heartbreak.

Kobe endured years of playoff heartbreak.

The Spurs’ own championship core endured years of playoff heartbreak.

Those experiences shaped the mentality people now romanticize.

This Spurs team is playing with house money. Yet too many fans seem eager to crown them before they’ve earned it.

I’m not there.

To borrow a famous line from Dennis Green: “They are who we thought they were.”

The Knicks haven’t stolen this series. The Spurs have helped let them off the hook.

That doesn’t mean the series is over. Far from it. There is still time for this group to change the narrative and write a different chapter.

But if the Spurs continue making the same youthful mistakes that plagued them through the first two games, this series won’t return to San Antonio tied.

It will end with a sweep, and the Spurs will find themselves packing their bags somewhere between 7th Avenue, 8th Avenue, West 31st Street, and West 33rd Street in New York City.

society, sports

If I had a child wanting to go to Baylor, I’d just tell them no

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DALLAS, Texas – We all are very aware of the fact that Baylor University is in the limelight again and has been for almost a year now.

We are all also acutely aware that Baylor’s head football coach, Art Briles, is on the hot seat from outside sources.

But what we don’t know is whether Briles, BU President Ken Starr, the board of trustees and other higher ups understand why parents could be very concerned about a culture at a Baptist school and at least sitting over here, I don’t think those afore mentioned really care what those parents think right now.

Let’s face it. If you’re a parent who has a child wanting to go to Baylor, would you let him or her go right now? I mean at a cost of almost $40,000 in tuition and fees per year, what as you as a parent getting as assurance that your child is going to be protected from a sexual predator?

Now I know that may seem to be a stretch for some in my assumption but is it unreasonable?

Young men and women on college campuses are going to come across these sort of societal ills; that’s just a part of our society now. But you, as a parent, are hoping that should a prominent student be accused of such a heinous crime, that the university take the appropriate measures and ensures that the due process of justice is done so that the rest of the student body feels protected.

In Baylor’s case, I just don’t see that happening.

I don’t see Briles taking this issue head on like he would ask his players to do in a tackling drill.

I don’t see Starr understanding just how damaging the Outside the Lines report is to the internal audit that is going on.

Where is the accountability of those school officials whose tasks and/or duties as authority figures to not only report any claim of sexual misconduct but to ensure that a transparent investigation is done on all sides?

Where was any coach or athletic administrator when the allegations of misconduct first rang out from the campus and why wasn’t a full court press put on a year ago to not only remove any person who is being investigated but also to protect the victims and ensure their rights as students according to the Baylor code of ethics?

Forget about Title IX ramifications; how about the ramifications of students who are victims basically getting victimized by not only their attacker but by the very school and governance system that they and/or their parents put their faith in?

Where is that reassurance that DESPITE the accuser being a star athlete, he or she is not above anyone and they are actually in a weaker position because they do represent the school?

I’ll tell you where…..Never Never land. That’s where.

Parents now have to add to their plate of worry schools that are in the news for the wrong reasons.

Twenty to thirty years ago, parents had to worry about kids experimenting with drugs, goofing off at college, and just doing some things that were perceived to be a “normal” experience.

Today, the very parents who made their parents worry about them twenty to thirty years ago now have to worry about whether or not their child will not be a victim of a sexual crime on campus.

I can’t imagine how those parents must feel who are either Baylor alum or who have kids going to the school. I’m sure it’s just sickening to read about or hear about it on the news.

But if I were a parent who had a son or daughter who wanted to go to Baylor, I’d have no problem telling that son or daughter they weren’t going to go.

It’s not that I wouldn’t be able to trust my child; I just couldn’t trust Baylor or its current administrators.

The administration at Baylor needs to understand that there are parents who are concerned and if they can’t clean up a program that brings in millions, then those parents have a right to guide their children to a school that puts character and student safety above wins and losses.

It may not be realistic as a parent, but that’s closer to a reality for students than having a system just flat out ignores your claim of being a victim on campus because you don’t score on the field.