Stephen A. Smith 'not happy' about ESPN's Ryan Clark layoff decision

[ASFN Admin]

ESPN sports personality Stephen A. Smith vocally expressed his frustrations with NFL analyst Ryan Clark's layoff this week.

After ESPN informed Clark during a Monday NFL Live episode that his time with the network had come to a close as part of a grander layoff process, Smith took to his podcast on Tuesday to push against the move.

Smith said he feels Clark is arguably the best football analyst in the United States and said he's let his bosses know how displeased he is that Clark is no longer with ESPN.

"I'm going to miss him. I am not happy about this decision one bit," Smith said during the podcast. "The bosses know I'm not happy about this decision. I've made that very, very clear."

However, he also conceded that layoffs happen in business and stressed the need for people to be "grown-ups" about what has happened at the network.

Stephen A. Smith just revealed live on his podcast that ESPN executives know he’s unhappy about Ryan Clark getting fired, adding that he wishes he had enough influence and power to prevent the decision:

"I am not happy about this decisions one bit, the bosses know I'm not happy… pic.twitter.com/JH3vhpg64k

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod (@big_business_) July 21, 2026

Has ESPN commented on the layoffs?​

The network issued a statement.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Stephen A. Smith 'not happy' about ESPN's Ryan Clark layoff decision

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