Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa didn’t take too kindly to some jabs from former NFL safety-turned-ESPN personality Ryan Clark.
Tagovailoa responded to pointed jokes made by Clark about the Dolphins quarterback’s recent preseason performance, where Tagovailoa went 5-for-7 in the passing game for 61 yards and a drive-starting interception.
To Clark, the preseason reps showed that Tagovailoa hadn’t been active in the weight room this offseason and that the quarterback “might’ve spent a lot of time at the tattoo parlor.”
Clark also jabbed that he felt Tagovailoa had put on weight and was also “not at the dinner table eating what the nutritionist had advised.”
You can hear Clark’s insults below, which feature some comments that the viewer may find insensitive.
This level of hate from Ryan Clark is unbelievable…
Tua does nothing but keep his head down and work his tail off the ENTIRE off season to get his body right.
How dare @espn for the constant hate y’all don’t even hide it anymore pic.twitter.com/w5I6OwZJH4
— JoeRobbie (@JoeRobbie_) August 22, 2023
Well, Tagovailoa didn’t sound too pleased at Clark’s comments and aired out his grievances during press availability on Wednesday when asked.
“He probably knows more about me than I know about myself,” Tagovailoa sarcastically responded. “I don’t know; Ryan’s been out of the league for some time… It’s a little weird when other people are talking about other people, and they’re not that person.
“My background is, I come from Samoan family. Respect is everything, but it does get to a point where, ‘Hey, a little easy on that, buddy,’ because… I think we’re a pretty tough-minded people and if we need to get scrappy, we can get scrappy, too.”
Tua Tagovailoa with some strong words for Ryan Clark pic.twitter.com/ihGd3dXZC2
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) August 23, 2023
Disregarding Clark’s comments even further, Tagovailoa went as so far as to strongly suggest that Clark should talk about other things this season since he’s not privy to the hard work he and his teammates have put in to prepare for the season.
“I’d appreciate it if you kept my name out your mouth; that’s what I would say,” Tagovailoa quipped.
#Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa responds to ESPN's Ryan Clark, who accused him of not working out this offseason:
“I would appreciate it if you kept my name out of your mouth.”
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 23, 2023
Tagovailoa’s feisty response to Clark’s unfair insults show that he’s not going to deal with foolishness as he enters his fourth season in the NFL.
For Dolphins fans, this kind of attitude should be exciting for the Tagovailoa’s return this fall since this will undoubtedly be some bulletin-board material for Miami’s quarterback this season.
