As the football off-season continues, tensions have risen between Ryan Clark and Robert Griffin III.

Every one of these former NFL athletes has established their own path as commentators and podcast hosts discussing various subjects. Despite earning their livings on the football field, their current disagreement originates from remarks regarding events on the basketball court.

Within the 3 days following

Caitlin Clark’s aggressive foul on Angel Reese

in the WNBA season opener, Griffin’s comments on the matter drew a response from Ryan Clark in a podcast short. Because Griffin took exception to what his former ESPN and NFL teammate had to say, the two traded shots on X (formerly Twitter).

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Here’s all you need to understand regarding the conflict among analysts.


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Ryan Clark-Robert Griffin III beef, explained

On Saturday, May 17, millions watched the WNBA as Caitlin Clark’s Fever faced off against Reese’s Sky in one of the season’s premier games. During the third quarter, Clark received a Flagrant 1 foul for an incident with Reese, which led to significant discussion about Reese’s response. This exchange caught the attention of Griffin, who chimed into the debate.

After sharing a photo of the foul’s aftermath on X to drum up engagement, Griffin returned to the platform a day later to address the incident.

He maximized his increased word count with a post stating, in part, “Angel Reese dislikes Caitlin Clark,” and further notes, “Certain individuals feel uneasy when you mention that Angel Reese harbors hatred or jealousy toward Caitlin Clark due to the intricate racial dynamics in America and the longstanding stereotypes about the furious or envious African American woman. I comprehend this sentiment.”

The post included a 134-second clip from a 22-minute podcast episode where Griffin discussed the topic with his wife sitting in a chair behind him.


A day later, Ryan Clark shared a clip from his podcast, “The Pivot,” in which he says, “RGIII plays into the narrative that Reese is the villain of Clark’s origin story. … Add him to the list of Black men who’ve adopted the corny trend of denigrating Black women to affirm their choices.”


Within the 3:45 video clip, Clark gets into Griffin’s personal life, saying, “The one thing we know about RG3 is he’s not having conversations at his home about what Black women have to endure in this country, about what young Black women and athletes like Angel Reese have had to deal with, being on the opposite side of Caitlin Clark’s rise into stardom.”

Clark continues by asking, “When is the last time, within your household, you’ve had a conversation about what [Reese is] dealing with? You haven’t been able to do that, ’cause in both of your marriages, you’ve been married to white women. You haven’t been able to have those conversations.”

He similarly objected to Griffin’s animated nodding of his head while imitating Reese’s response to the penalty, noting that Griffin’s spouse was encouraging him from where she stood behind the scenes.


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Clark mentioned that when they were ESPN colleagues, Griffin used to tell “cheesy” milk-related jokes about Clark’s Estonian spouse. He also noted that Griffin implies the uniqueness of his wife stems from the color of her skin, yet he clarified by saying, “I’ve spoken with the woman; I believe she is much more than that.”

A few hours passed before Griffin came back with an answer for Clark, stating, “In life, there’s a boundary you never overstep, and Ryan Clark ran far beyond it.” He further emphasized, “It’s utterly inappropriate, incorrect, and deeply beneath one to use someone’s spouse, marital status, or family against them just because they have differing views on a sporting opinion.”


Griffin even went so far as to describe Clark’s reaction as “cowardly, spineless, and weak,” labeling the choice as “poor optics for both ESPN and himself as an individual.”

Clark cited Griffin’s post, reminiscing about their shared past at ESPN and alluding to previous personal conflicts between them. Besides collaborating at ESPN, Clark and Griffin also played together for a short period with the Washington Redskins in 2014.

To conclude his message, Clark stated, “I did not assault your wife. My comments were about your activities on social media and television—as I mentioned earlier. I had an encounter with your wife, and she came across as a wonderful person whose value extends beyond the hue of her skin! Stay cool, man.”



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Who is married to Robert Griffin III?

Griffin’s spouse is Grete Griffin (nee Šadeiko), who was previously an Estonian heptathlete.

She

competed at Florida State

From 2012 through 2017, she received First Team All-ACC recognition as a redshirt sophomore in both 2015 and again as a redshirt junior in 2016. Along with this achievement, she was also associated with Griffin.

first linked

to each other in August 2016 when she was a redshirt senior and Griffin was playing for the Browns.

In May 2017, the couple got engaged, followed by welcoming their first child in July of the same year. Their wedding took place in March 2018. Together, they now have three daughters, along with Griffin’s additional daughter from an earlier relationship whom they help raise as well.


Grete

runs a fitness business

besides being a co-host of Robert’s “Outta Pocket with RGIII” podcast.