I Couldn’t Be Too Black’: Ryan Clark’s ESPN Firing Isn’t Rare

Anchor Ryan Clark was fired from ESPN during a live broadcast of his NFL Live show.

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Recently, anchor Ryan Clark, 46, was fired from ESPN during a live broadcast of his NFL Live show. Many critiqued ESPN’s decision to fire Clark mid-show, but the network defended its decision, citing fears that Clark would find out the news through the grapevine. In an episode of The Pivot Podcast post-firing, Clark claims he adjusted who he was to keep his job at ESPN, specifically stating that he felt he couldn’t be “too Black.”

ESPN declined an official comment regarding these claims, directing Forbes to a memo Chairman Jimmy Pitaro sent to employees on July 21 that stated the following: “Over the past several months, we've made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN. Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today. While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition. Even in moments like these, the strength of ESPN comes from our people, our teamwork and our shared mission to serve sports fans.”

In 2019, actor Gabrielle Union, who was a judge on the TV show America’s Got Talent was told her hair was “too Black.”

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Clark is not unique in his experiences. Workplaces that make Black employees feel like they must tone down their Blackness are a persistent experience across different fields and industries. In 2019, it was reported that actor Gabrielle Union, who was a judge on the TV show America’s Got Talent: The Champions , was told her hair was “too Black.” That same year, actor Reagan Gomez-Preston alleged in a series of tweets that while filming for That 70s Show , she had to tone down her Blackness and was humiliated by a white male director who critiqued every scene, making remarks asking her for “less sass.”

Black employees are often forced to navigate corporate landmines that require them to adhere to Eurocentric standards, norms and values. These unspoken rules signal to Black employees that they must code-switch, be more palatable and tone down their Blackness to ascend. The rub is no matter how proficient, prolific or productive you are as a Black employee, Black excellence will never save you.

In the short term, corporations often justify firing or sidelining Black talent because of a financial “need.” But in the long term, workplaces that foster environments that continue to ignore these harmful norms will lose Black talent, thus impacting their competitiveness and sustainability. There must be more awareness around this issue—Black employees are often held to impossible and unrealistic standards much more than their non-Black counterparts. Integrating more objectivity within workplace practices during hiring, recruitment and advancement can play an instrumental role in addressing this issue.

Black employees are often held to impossible and unrealistic standards in the workplace.

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For Black employees, it’s important to understand this stigma, how it manifests and how it can impact your career. While the expectation should never require one to contort themselves to fit into a box, workplaces often have unspoken rules and standards that demand this of employees. Navigating this issue requires Black employees to consider where they will draw the line and stand firm in their boundaries.

Sometimes it can be difficult to remain uncompromising when it comes to unrealistic norms and values that “professional” spaces require. Occasionally, Black employees may find that the best solution is to exit the environment entirely, but it’s imperative to understand that this isn’t just a workplace-specific issue but a pervasive and rampant problem across organizations, institutions and workplaces everywhere. It is the responsibility of organizations to address this issue; the burden should never be placed at the feet of Black employees to alter themselves to meet these unrealistic workplace standards.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

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