ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark fired back at critics on Wednesday, but confirmed a claim about his family in doing so.
Clark shared photos of his oldest daughter Jaden on social media Wednesday. He confirmed that she is biracial, and questioned why that matters.
“I didn’t know this was news, but since other people want to talk about her… This is my first born Jaden. My God she’s beautiful. All of her!” Clark wrote on social media. “I fell in love with her the first time I ever saw her, & I’ve loved her every day since. We grew up together. We cried together, laughed, fought… She is all mine and I’ve always been so proud to be her father.
“Maybe, the news in light of this week is that she’s biracial. So? She is a perfect part of my God given experience, & the sum of those experiences make me who I am!”
I didn’t know this was news, but since other people want to talk about her… This is my first born Jaden. My God she’s beautiful. All of her!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) May 21, 2025
I fell in love with her the first time I ever saw her, & I’ve loved her every day since. We grew up together. We cried together,… pic.twitter.com/QnmpLTkdKH
Clark’s critics would say it matters because of his criticism of Robert Griffin III. After Griffin opined that Angel Reese “hates” Caitlin Clark following Saturday’s Sky-Fever game, Clark argued that Griffin is unqualified to say that about Reese because Griffin is married to a white woman and therefore does not understand black women like Reese.
Clark having a child with a white woman could undermine his criticism. That was the point his former teammate Le’Veon Bell was making when he called Clark out for the comments Clark made about Griffin.
Clark has been open about the fact that his oldest daughter is biracial. During the protests following George Floyd’s death in June 2020, he discussed on ESPN how he had a child with a white woman when he was 19.
“Raising this child in the house with my African-American wife, my other two children, they’re all the same to me,” Clark said at the time. “I treat them all the exact same way. My daughter being half of something that I’m not doesn’t keep me from loving her.”
Some of Clark’s ESPN colleagues reportedly want him disciplined for his comments about Griffin. This just adds another angle to the controversy.
