Ryan Clark rips Robert Griffin III for take on Angel Reese-Caitlin Clark rivalry

Robert Griffin III was among those who chimed in on the latest saga in the rivalry between basketball stars Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, saying the Chicago Sky star “hates Caitlin Clark.”

“After watching Caitlin Clark’s flagrant foul on Angel Reese and the aftermath, there is no way Angel Reese can continue the lie that she doesn’t dislike Caitlin Clark,” Griffin wrote on X. “I know what hatred looks like. Angel Reese HATES Caitlin Clark. Not some basketball rivalry hate either. Hate.”

Griffin later claimed his statement was “purely based in basketball” and was simply a “sports take.”

Tempers flared between Reese and Clark after the Fever guard committed a flagrant foul on the Sky forward. It was one of the bigger moments of Indiana’s 93-58 blowout win on Saturday. 

Current ESPN NFL analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers star Ryan Clark reacted to Griffin’s comments on the Reese-Clark drama. Clark suggested Griffin was joining the “hate train” and was falling in line with the positions other media figures have taken.

“When RG3 jumps onto the hate train or the angry train, it now follows what we saw from Keith Olbermann, what we saw from Dave Portnoy, as they poured onto Angel Reese to make her the villain, and Caitlin Clark heroic or hero story,” Clark said during a recent episode of his “The Pivot” podcast. 

“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 and ascension into stardom.”

CAITLIN CLARK SPEAKS OUT ON WNBA’S PROBE INTO ALLEGED ‘HATEFUL COMMENTS’ TOWARD ANGEL REESE

Clark then highlighted the former NFL quarterback’s marriage.

“If you’re RG3, when is the last time within your household you’ve had a conversation about what [Angel Reese is] dealing with?” Clark asked. “You haven’t been able to do that because in both of your marriages, you’ve been married to White women.”

Griffin is married to Grete Griffin, who is a native of Estonia and a heptathlete.

“You haven’t had opportunities to have those conversations to educate you on what they’re feeling, what Black women deal with, what they’re seeing when they think of a young Angel Reese. And the whole time that he’s mimicking Angel Reese and bobbing his head and moving his neck while he’s doing this whole piece, his wife is in the back amening and clapping.”

Griffin left ESPN in 2024. Multiple outlets reported at the time that Griffin’s dismissal was a cost-cutting move.

“When I worked with RG3, he would make all of these sort of corny jokes about milk and how much he loved it and how important it was. And he always points out on social media the color of his wife’s white skin. As if the color of her skin is what makes her special. As if the color of her skin is what makes her a good wife,” Clark continued.

“I’ve met the lady. I’ve had a conversation with her. I think she’s more than that. But it also leads to what Black women deal with a lot from Black men who have chose to date or marry outside of their race. They always feel like they have to go the extra mile to prop up the woman that they married or the woman that they’re with over Black women by denigrating Black women.”

Griffin caught wind of Clark’s comments and took to social media to share his response.

“Ryan Clark personally attacking me and my family personally over a sports opinion is cowardly, spineless, and weak,” Griffin wrote on X, along with a more than two-minute-long video. Griffin also stated several times that Clark’s assertions were “way out of bounds.”

Caitlin Clark and Reese have major history, going back to the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball national championship. Both players downplayed the incident. 

Clark told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the third quarter that there had been “nothing malicious” behind the foul.

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

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