We have some NFL media beef on our hands.
On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt blasted the Colts for hiring Jeff Saturday as their interim head coach and questioned whether ESPN could stay unbiased while covering the Saturday hiring, considering he worked for the network.
https://twitter.com/places/37439688c6302728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1589979498543722497%7Ctwgr%5E082a1b3da3694661f388732c1f7a93280d78533f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fawfulannouncing.com%2Fnfl%2Fnfl-network-kyle-brandt-espn-jeff-saturday.html
“What do you say here? Because he’s a high school coach and he was on ESPN and screaming on Get Up? It’s an interesting media thing, too,” Brandt said. “Because this is an ESPN employee, and I’d be fascinated to hear if anybody on ESPN has something critical to say about Jeff Saturday in this case. Or is it just ‘Oh, we’re happy for Jeff’? If I’m the Colts, I’m embarrassed yesterday.”
ESPN’s Ryan Clark took offense to Brandt’s comments and fired back on social media.
Say @KyleBrandt stick to talking about the people that cover football at your network. We are good over here. Be well.
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 9, 2022
No problem with his thoughts on Jeff. That’s his job. What we talk about at our network is not.
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 9, 2022
He said that we would not speak on it honestly because Jeff is our colleague. I don’t care what he says about the hire. https://t.co/osI9AcPB8T
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 9, 2022
It is about doing our job as Jeff would.
We all have to utmost respect for Jeff and who he is as a man & football mind. We love our guy, and when you open up articles to see folk at other spots running their mouths sometimes I don’t have enough hops for the high road https://t.co/c42JkaJBjz— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 9, 2022
It is worth noting that Clark also criticized the Colts for hiring Saturday over qualified black assistant coaches in the league.
I believe in Jeff Saturday’s intelligence & character; not his hiring. There are so many layers to this. Is it about Privilege, race, nepotism, relationship , or respect?
In the end the comfort & familiarity of friendship overwhelmed Irsay… & could overwhelm the locker room. pic.twitter.com/1KVHUTTcLI
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 8, 2022