Hosts Chris Russo and Ryan Clark got into an on-air tussle during Monday’s broadcast of ESPN’s First Take after Clark torched Russo for his Heisman Trophy votes.
At one point, Clark took a swipe at Russo for his votes over speculation about Rams receiver Cooper Kupp getting into the Hall of Fame after a season where he received the triple crown and Super Bowl MVP honors, the New York Post reported.
Clark lashed out at Russo, saying, “They must be voting like you vote for the Heisman where you just vote on whoever the hell you want, based on the fact that they play quarterback.”
Russo thought it was a good to yell at an Pro-Bowl NFL Safety because he's talking to him via zoom as if they'll never see each other on the ESPN hallway. @Realrclark25 pic.twitter.com/p0YdaR83OC
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 8, 2022
But Russo didn’t take Clark’s insinuation kindly and began raising his voice in reply.
“Ryan… you said something and I’m going to comment on it,” Russo replied. “I’ve been voting for the Heisman since before you were born.”
But Clark blasted back, saying, “back up,” and added, “stop screaming at me, bro,” and “That’s the last time. You’ll stop screaming at me. Lower your voice.”
Russo, though, was undeterred. “I’ve been voting for the Heisman since before you were born, OK? It’s 30 years. I obviously got something right.”
Clark tried to back it off a bit and added that he “never said [Russo] didn’t deserve” a Heisman vote.
“What I said is the way you spoke about voting for the Heisman — I disagree with it because I don’t believe that just because you don’t play quarterback, you can’t win it. And what I’m saying is, Cooper Kupp, before this season, was not considered a top-five receiver,” Clark added.
“Davante Adams, Deandre Hopkins and those guys were largely considered better than him. And so now what I’m saying is, because he had a triple crown year, if Cooper Kupp that doesn’t play, that doesn’t put him into the Hall of Fame but it actually doesn’t pertain to this conversation. — You’re making things up,” just ahead of the commercial break.
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