Ryan Clark Admits On ESPN That He's Willing To Lie About His Opinion

If you've watched Ryan Clark for any amount of time -- first of all, I feel sorry for you -- then the headline probably doesn't surprise you. Still, it's a little concerning that he was willing to go on ESPN on Monday and admit he gives opinions he doesn't actually believe.

Clark is a media darling. He's one of those characters that people have to pretend to like or risk him calling them racist.

In October, OutKick's Zach Dean did an excellent breakdown of a feud between Ryan Clark and Brady Quinn. I went back and re-read his story in preparation for this one. Something Dean wrote stuck out to me:

"Ryan Clark is so full of crap it’s hilarious. How do you spew that much BS without at least laughing a little bit while doing it? Excellent job of keeping a straight face here by Ryan. Bravo," Dean said at the time.

ESPN "analyst" Ryan Clark openly admits that he's willing to lie about his opinions if it helps make him more famous. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Well, now we know the answer. Because he's an actor, not an analyst. I suppose one could make the case that makes him a good actor. Perhaps he should pursue that career.

Instead, he has his eyes on a GM job in the NFL. He's even willing to lie about his past opinions on that topic to make himself look better:

Ryan Clark openly admits that he's willing to lie about his opinions on ESPN

With all of that as the backdrop, this next part makes complete sense. On Monday, Clark said that he's glad he doesn't have to pretend he thinks Brock Purdy is good anymore.

"The single hardest thing I had to do this year was act like Brock Purdy deserved to be in the conversations with ," Clark said.

There's a lot to break down here. Let's start with this: what does Clark mean the hardest thing he HAD to do this year?

Did a producer at ESPN hold a gun to Clark's head and force him to praise Brock Purdy? Did someone threaten to fire him if he didn't?

I worked at ESPN for a decade and produced shows like this. Sure, we would try to help talent form and articulate their arguments. But never, not once, did I hear a producer demand that a talent take a position that he didn't want to take. Never.

So, Clark is already lying by suggesting that he HAD to do anything. He chose to praise Brock Purdy when he was playing well. Now, he gleefully takes joy in Purdy's struggles. Then, he pretends he never really thought he was any good in the first place.

He's going to make a great GM, huh?

Awful Announcing dug up a clip of Clark from October in which he put Purdy in the "elite" category among NFL quarterbacks.

Look at the title of that video: "RC passionately defends Brock Purdy as an elite quarterback."

So, he was lying then? Or is he lying now? It's impossible to tell with Ryan Clark, and that's the point. We do know that he lies. OutKick has documented this on several occasions.

His reward for that behavior? A SPORTS EMMY!

Yes, they gave Ryan Clark an award for "Outstanding Personality/Studio Analyst."

You literally cannot make this stuff up.

Well, Ryan Clark could.