Ryan Clark has issued an apology to his family for ‘dragging’ them into his race scandal with fellow ex-NFL star Robert Griffin III.

In response to Griffin’s commentary on the Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese feud earlier this month – in which the former quarterback said Reese ‘hates’ her rival – Clark took aim at the race of Griffin’s wife, Estonian heptathlete Grete.

Clark said that his former teammate Griffin ‘is not having conversations at his home about what black women have to endure in this country,’ and also pointed out that Griffin III has twice ‘been married to white women’.

Those remarks led to both Grete and Griffin calling him out, and Clark apologized to the family last week.

But he’s also asked forgiveness from his own family for seemingly getting them involved in the situation.

‘As I end this I need to apologize to my family. [His wife] Yonka, Jaden, Jordan, & Loghan I am sorry,’ he wrote on X. ‘Until this week I didn’t realize how much you defend me, & deal with the fall out of my stuff. 

Ryan Clark has apologized to his family, including his wife, Yonka, for ‘dragging’ them into his feud

Clark has apologized to Grete Griffin and Robert Griffin III for taking aim at her race

As I end this I need to apologize to my family. Yonka, Jaden, Jordan, & Loghan I am sorry. Until this week I didn’t realize how much you defend me, & deal with the fall out of my stuff. This week brought it all to a head. Yonka has been dragged the entire week, & Jaden who we… pic.twitter.com/gTJCdTr54n

— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) May 25, 2025

‘This week brought it all to a head. Yonka has been dragged the entire week, & Jaden who we raised in our home has been used as a pawn. Yonka didn’t deserve what happened to her this week. 

‘She’s a beautiful woman that’s devoted her life to our family. Shes never wanted to be out front, been the backbone of support. She raised Jaden as her own from the age of 4, & shown up for all 3 of our babies 100% of the time. She’s now started a career to help others. That’s who she is, & who I’ll allow her to be.’

Following his remarks, it emerged that Clark’s daughter, Jaden, is biracial, and the ex-Steelers safety was branded as a ‘hypocrite’ online. 

In a video accompanying his latest apology, Clark said on his ‘The Pivot’ podcast that he ‘didn’t want or need’ to attack Griffin, and that his intent was to ‘defend a young black woman’ in Reese.

His initial comments came after Clark was ᴀssessed a flagrant foul on Reese in their WNBA opener, after slapping across her rival’s arm (and sending her to the floor) to prevent a layup.

An incensed Reese then beelined for Clark when she got up before others intervened.

Days later, Clark issued an apology to the Griffin family for his words and said that he made a mistake involving Grete.

‘Let me say this before getting into reasoning, before getting into thought process: She should not have been brought up in me trying to make a point about how having black women close to you and the things that you learn from them can help you in the way that you approach and speak to and about them,’ Clark said on the latest episode of ‘The Pivot.’ 

It emerged after Clark’s remarks against the Griffins that his own daughter, Jaden, is biracial

Clark later apologized to Grete, saying he should have never involved her in this

‘She didn’t need to be the illustration of that. I could speak positively about what they are without making the insinuation that it’s something that non-Black women don’t do well. 

‘To Grete, I was out of line. I was out of bounds. I apologize,’ he later continued. ‘To all of the people that don’t like RG’s take or takes or the way that he moves, or even if you just in this conversation, take my side and want to support me, leave his family alone. 

Read More ‘Hypocrite’ Ryan Clark reveals biracial daughter after ripping Robert Griffin III’s mixed marriage

‘It doesn’t take a daily attack on his wife, on his children, to remind him that you think his take, his takes, or whatever it is, is the wrong thing to you. Families should be off limits. I started that by bringing her into it. 

‘I see that no matter what my intent was, the impact was different. If I had to do it all over again, I would do it a different way.’

Clark’s remarks also earned criticism from his co-workers at ESPN, who reportedly wanted the network to ‘punish’ Clark for his comments.

Griffin himself posted a lengthy response on social media, saying that Clark was ‘personally attacking me and my family’ in a lengthy statement on X.

He added: ‘There’s a line you don’t cross in life and Ryan Clark sprinted past it.

‘Ryan Clark didn’t like my take on Angel Reese hating Caitlin Clark. That’s fine. Disagreement is part of the game. But instead of debating my point, he personally attacked me and my family. That shows how low of person he is.’