CNN panelist blames 'culture war' retribution as reason for Ryan Clark's ESPN departure

Ryan Clark is no longer employed by ESPN.

After it was first reported by OutKick that Clark would be among a collection of on-air talents let go by the four-letter network Tuesday, July 21, the story shifted focus to a combination of cause and blame around the situation, and not the termination itself.

Clark was told the news on Monday during a taping of ESPN's 'NFL Live' after OutKick had obtained the information and had asked the network for comment. ESPN acted in such a manner, telling Clark during a taping, in an attempt to keep OutKick's Dan Zaksheske and Bobby Burack from breaking the story.

SPORTS MEDIA RUSHES TO CAST RYAN CLARK AS VICTIM WHILE PORTRAYING ESPN AS THE VILLAIN

Ryan Clark was let go by ESPN after more than 11 years with the network, OutKick learned. (Ric Tapia/Getty Images)

In his first public comments following his ouster, Clark accused ESPN of intentionally leaking the news to OutKick. The fact that OutKick obtained the information hasn't exactly sat right with at least one CNN contributor.

During 'CNN This Morning' on Sunday, Jason "Jah" Lee raised questions about the situation as a whole while also pointing to Clark getting caught up in a "culture war" leading to his demise at ESPN.

ESPN parted ways with longtime NFL analyst Ryan Clark following an 11-year run at the network. (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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"I think Ryan Clark got swept up in some level of culture war retribution," Lee, the senior editor at Bossip, explained. "The reason he got fired during the segment is because an outlet called OutKick contacted ESPN threatening to leak this information. How would OutKick get this information?

"OutKick is owned by Fox News Corp and was established by Clay Travis. If you know Clay Travis, he is not a bleeding-heart liberal. I feel a lot of this was purposefully done to embarrass Ryan Clark. ESPN has taken a lot of heat for being a liberal bastion lately, and I feel like perhaps [Clark's] bosses thought this was a time to push the other direction."

Ryan Clark, who joined ESPN after retiring from the NFL in 2015, was let go by the network. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

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Clark, a former Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers, began his NFL analyst career at ESPN in 2015. According to Burack, he made around $2 million per year, roughly four times what the average NFL analyst earns.