Ryan Clark he made his career as a tight end in the NFL before moving into analyst and podcasting. In the wake of comments comedian Andrew Schulz made to ShxtsNGigs Hosts James Duncan and Fuhad Dawodu on black women, Ryan Clark issued a statement in defense of them, but some black men online are calling him “soft” for his stance.
Duncan and Dawodu were guests at Schulz's Scandalous podcast in July with Schulz highlighting the “Black girlfriend effect” trend from social media. In essence, the trend notes that when a white man has a black woman as a romantic partner, his entire image changes for the better. However, Schulz used the mostly harmless trend to frame the example as black women pushing their partners and using violence to bring them into line. Schultz, who is on the same level of the program, leaned into other topics, such as talking about Nigerians and other shots at black women.
It should be noted that the ShxtsNGigs The hosts offered no response or criticism to Schultz's jabs, which some online said were made under the guise of comedy and light-hearted chatter. However, clips from the episode have since gone viral, and the huge base of black women that Duncan and Dowdu enjoyed has largely defected. The couple apologized, but many believe it's too late.
Ryan Clark, via The Pivot podcast with Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, he spoke at length about what he experienced from his mother and later his wife as his reference to the value of black women in his life. He also said that because so many black men disrespect black women, some have allowed white men to feel, in his words, “comfortable” disrespecting them.
More from X:
I'm not sure what @andrewschulz's black woman experience was, but it wasn't the real 'black friend effect'. Insulting black women and describing them as complaining and abusive is not just untrue. It's disrespectful. Worse, James Duncan & Fuhad Dawodu allow him to say it's more offensive.
Andrew Schultz spoke that way in front of two black men because they allowed him to. They made him comfortable enough to respect black women because they didn't force him to respect them.
My experience is that black women are strong, beautiful, strong and supportive. They prioritize black family, community, and culture. They take steps back to push their men and families forward. So no Andrew, the “black girlfriend effect” is nothing like what you described. I'm just sad that you don't have enough solid black people around you to tell you otherwise!
With the clip of Clarke's response going viral on X, some men referred to him as soft because he couldn't take a joke. Below is one such exchange.
“I hate how soft nggas are now man. Smh. All these sad asses think the pieces over the jokes. As one of the dirtiest players in NFL history, someone who played with reckless abandon, someone who intentionally tried to hurt other people for sports, I thought you'd be a little tougher bro,” @MulhollandL0ver wrote.
Clark replied, “You're more than welcome to test me to see how tough a good brother I am, but jokes are only funny if the subject believes them. Same with my Tua joke last year. I thought it was funny, other players thought it was funny, my colleagues thought it was funny. He and his people didn't.”
Keep scrolling to see X's comments on Ryan Clark's comments.
I'm not sure what the black woman is going through @andrewschulz it did, but it wasn't the real “black girlfriend effect”. Insulting black women and describing them as complaining and abusive is not just untrue. It's disrespectful. Even worse, James Duncan & Fuhad Dawodu allow him to… pic.twitter.com/2gQQRPSCYd
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) September 19, 2024
—
Photo: Getty
