Ryan Clark apologizes for 'bad joke' about Tua Tagovailoa's work ethic

Clark, a former safety who played nine seasons in the NFL, had made what appeared to be a joke on ESPN's "NFL Live" about the quarterback's fitness after the Dolphins' preseason win over the Houston Texans.

As transcribed by Awful Announcing:

“I’m gonna tell you what he wasn’t doing, he wasn’t in the gym. I’ll bet you that. He might have spent a lot of time in the tattoo parlor. He was not at the dinner table eating what the nutritionist had advised. He looks happy. He is thick. He’s built like a girl working at Onyx [Gentleman’s Club] in Atlanta right on the bottom.”

Although Clark actually went on to praise how well Tagovailoa looked in the game, the train had already left the station when it came to the response to his initial remarks.

Tagovailoa was asked about Clark's words and was understandably miffed, demanding that "I would appreciate it if you kept my name out of your mouth."

In the text of his post and again in his video, Clark emphasized his intent to come with respect to everyone he engages with in his job as an analyst. Yet what should be most notable in Clark's apology is how he recognized his ego in response to a subtle threat in Tagovailoa's words when the fourth-year quarterback said "If we need to get scrappy, then we can get scrappy." Ideally not to enflame the situation any further, Clark is hoping to bring down the temperature.

The joke clearly didn't go over well in Miami, especially in light of Tagovailoa's offseason workouts that were done in hopes of keeping him on the field after dealing with concussion and neck problems in 2022. 

Clark, who was recently added to the "Monday Night Countdown" team, said he reached out to the quarterback to apologize directly. Perhaps bygones will be bygones long before the two men potentially connect when the Dolphins host the Tennessee Titans for "Monday Night Football" on Dec. 11.