The RGIII versus Ryan Clark saga continues, and in this case, it seems like Michelle Obama’s infamous “when they go low, you go high” approach to conflict is clearly out the window.
After Clark called out how Robert Griffin III’s (known as RGIII) interracial dating and marriage history played a part in his recent tone-deaf comments about Angel Reese, some social media users researched Clark’s dating history. This investigation made users point out that Clark’s eldest daughter, Jaden, is biracial.
But did it create the “gotcha” moment they were hoping for?
In response to critics, Clark took to social media to address the growing comments on his daughter’s racial background.
“I didn’t know this was news, but since other people want to talk about her… This is my first, Jaden. My God, she’s beautiful. All of her! I fell in love with her the first time I ever saw her, & I’ve loved her every day since,” he wrote on X and Instagram sharing photos of him and his daughter. “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!”
Now, the attacks on both Clark and RGIII’s personal lives all stemmed from a tweet RGIII shared following Angel Reese and Caitlain Clark’s foul during the WNBA season opener.
Adding even more fuel to the fire, the sports commentator shared “evidence” to back his hot take about Reese in a YouTube video, which featured his wife awkwardly sitting in the background as he spent nearly 22 minutes disparaging Reese.
And as theGrio’s Panama Jackson noted, “RGIII essentially pointing out how this Black woman hates this white woman with his white wife in the background was terrible optics.”
“The one thing we know about RGIII is he’s not having conversation 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,” Clark initially said in response to RGIII’s comment about Reese, on his podcast. “So now if you’re RGIII when is the last time, within your household, you had a conversation about what [Angel Reese] is dealing with? You haven’t been able to do that because in both of your marriages you’ve been married to white women.”
To which RGIII responded, saying that the fellow sports commentator and former NFL teammate “sprinted past” a line, turning a comment that he says was rooted in basketball into a personal issue. While sports commentators continue to feud over the WNBA foul, Reese has moved on from the situation.
“Basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on.” she said in a press conference, after the game.
“My thoughts are exactly what the players are saying. Let’s not make it anything that it’s not and move on,”ESPN commentator Ari Chambers echoed in an appearance on SportsCenter.
