It looks like Ryan Clark doesn’t want to touch the topic of Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson with a 10-foot pole.
During a segment on ESPN‘s “First Take” Wednesday, Clark walked off the set while two of his co-hosts ranted about an interview involving the former New England Patriots coach and his girlfriend.
During the segment, hosts Chris Russo and Stephen A. Smith launched into tirades criticizing Belichick for how he handled an interview with CBS where Hudson interrupted to shut down a line of questioning about how they met.
“We certainly don’t want to see someone with you telling folks, ‘We’re not answering those questions’ either. You do not want that,” Smith said.
It was at that point that Clark announced that he was leaving the set.
“That’s where RC exit off the stage,” Clark said as he walked off camera and toward the curtains.
Why did Clark walk off the set? Don’t expect him to reveal that any time soon.
After the segment aired, Clark posted a screenshot of himself ducking off the set with the caption, “If I send you this it means… ‘I ain’t no snitch. Don’t ask me nothing.’”
The 45-year-old Clark is a former NFL defensive back who faced Belichick’s Patriots teams on multiple occasions. More recently, Clark worked alongside Belichick as a panelist on “Inside the NFL.”
Since taking the job as head coach at North Carolina, Belichick has been nigh-unrecognizable with his behavior off of the field, especially when it comes to public appearances with Hudson.
The 73-year-old’s relationship with a woman 49 years younger than him has become a point of public fascination. It was a touchy subject during Belichick’s recent interview with CBS.
Belichick and Hudson clearly wanted to focus on promoting the coach’s book, “The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football.”
But when CBS’ Tony Dokoupil asked Belichick the two met, Hudson cut in from off-camera, saying that, “We’re not talking about this.”
Belichick and Hudson have publicly criticized CBS for how it handled the interview, stating that the network went back on its word to focus solely on the book. CBS disputed that claim, saying that “there were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation.”
