Ryan Leaf Joins 'Hot Mic' To Discuss Not Backing Down From Your Convictions

Former Washington state quarterback Ryan Leaf joined "Hot Mic" with Jonathan Hutton and Chad Withrow to discuss the latest saga surrounding ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky.

Earlier this month, Orlovsky deleted one of his tweets that said "Protect Our Daughters." He originally did this to speak out against men competing in women’s sports, but eventually deleted it because he believed the tweet did not represent ESPN’s views.

Leaf took issue with Orlovsky’s decision, saying that he should have been firm in his conviction and not taken the post down. He said that people should follow their convictions, even if that puts them at odds with their employer.

"Orlovsky (is talking about) how he can’t speak what he wants to speak. Well yes you can. If a paycheck is (more) important to you than the people under your roof and stuff like that, I don’t understand," Leaf said. "Maybe it’s because I’ve been in prison and like I’ve been at the very top, but I’ve been at the very bottom and I don’t have any to lose…But I’m gonna be the guy I like to see in the mirror every day and that’s a big change cause I didn’t like that guy forever. It’s just odd."

He also added that instances like this only serve to create distrust between sports anchors and fans.

"It’s just really odd to see people behaving the way they do. It doesn’t feel like they're real, it almost feels like they’re simulations in some way. And that's just weird, especially around sports."

Lastly, he brought a tweet that he posted in response to former ESPN employee David Pollack’s take on the Orlovsky situation. While Pollack was more nuanced, Leaf was rather blunt.

Leaf closed by saying that he chooses to speak out against the lies of culture because he does not fear what they could take from him.

"I don’t live in fear of speaking truth to power at all, because what are they going to take away from me?" Leaf said.

That is certainly an example worth following.