Source: Justin Edmonds / Getty
The ongoing sports pundit debate between Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Clark has entered yet another chapter.
Most recently, Rodgers was on Pat McAfee‘s ESPN show, speaking about how shows on the sports network have turned into talking heads who call themselves experts but don’t have memorable careers. He added that he misses the SportsCenter in the old days, where hosts didn’t have to make “asinine” hot takes to stay relevant and believe they were celebrities.
Aaron Rodgers blasted former players for believing they are stars now after not having the greatest of careers. It’s ironic that he said this while being paid to by a former player who is the epitome of the people he’s lamenting!
Aaron is one of the greatest players of all… pic.twitter.com/4ln0JhZTgZ
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) December 13, 2024
Then last week, Clark had a visceral response on First Take, calling Rodgers a hypocrite because he’s also literally getting paid to be on ESPN and do the same, adding that he’s a “fraud” because McAfee’s star also grew after he retired as a punter.
“Say whatever the f*ck you want about me, I don’t care.”
Aaron Rodgers went off on the Pat McAfee Show today with a PSA
(
: @PatMcAfeeShow)pic.twitter.com/q4ij0HIV5z
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) December 17, 2024
Rodgers, a “free thinker,” responded on McAfee’s show, saying that his opinion doesn’t matter because Clark is vaxxed. Making sure everyone knew he was talking about Clark, he said, “You don’t just need a brooch with your initials. Put your vax status on there, too.”
I won’t let Aaron Rodgers’ vax smoke screen distract me from the stench of the tape. He’s entitled to his opinion, but to say you aren’t concerned with what we say is a lie… I mean it’s the reason we are here.
It’s a continuation of his hypocrisy that started with criticizing… pic.twitter.com/Ko0ogDFHnQ
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) December 18, 2024
Clark took to X to address Rodgers again in a five-minute video, explaining why Rodgers is a hypocrite for going on McAfee’s show and how you don’t even have to play football to be a great analyst, citing Mina Kimes. He says he’s vaxxed because he’s got no spleen and gallbladder. Then, he pointed out that Rodgers was “slimy” about his vax status because he lied about having it. Plus, he feels free to give his opinion on him because it was formed by being in locker rooms with Rodgers’ former teams.
“Let me be very clear: my job is to analyze you. You’ve decided to analyze me. In analyzing you, I know your QBR is 21st. I also know that you’re the quarterback of a 4-10 team who has to win the last three games of the season to even be equal to what last year’s team was without you,” he said. “Now you get on the show, and you curse and talk at my brooch and all of this tough talk. I just need you to know none of that scares me. I feel no way about not being able to talk about what the film says because of what my career was.”
He then lists his accomplishments to Rogers, including his 13-year career, being an Emmy winner, and the owner and cohost of an Emmy-nominated podcast.
He also points out all the guests he’s had on his podcast, like Shaq, Davante Adams, and Kevin Hart, that have been on The Pivot, and he didn’t have to pay them –like McAfee does with Rodgers.
Clark even offers a soft warning about respect, suggesting that he and Rodgers should have mutual respect “as long as you want it that way.”
See how social media is reacting to the ongoing heated exchange.
window.addEventListener(‘interaction’, function () {
setTimeout(function () {
var s = document.createElement(‘script’), el = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[ 0 ];
s.async = true;
s.src = ‘https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js’;
el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);
}, 1000)
});