Retired NFL star Ryan Clark slammed recent propaganda videos the White House posted last week promoting President Donald Trump’s war in Iran. One video features NFL highlights like his own.
“There are families here in our country whose loved ones have decided to give their lives to fight for our rights and freedoms, who do not view war as a sport,” Clark said on his podcast, “The Pivot.”
Clark’s comments come after the White House sparked outrage for posting real footage of missile attacks on Iran on X, edited together with clips from football highlights. video games, films and television programmes. Some argued the White House war made light.
Among those outraged by the White House videos was actor Ben Stiller, whose clip from his 2008 comedy “Tropic Thunder” was used without his permission.
“Hey White House,” Stiller posted. “Please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie.”
Clark echoed Stiller’s sentiment, telling his co-host, retired NFL star Fred Taylor, that he is “disappointed because, for example, having ‘Tropic Thunder’ and football highlights on a video about war is one of the more insensitive things I’ve ever seen.”
“War is not a comedy, and these people are risking their lives, not for our safety, but for someone else’s agenda,” Clark said.
He told Taylor that he only found out about his highlight reel from reporters in the White House video, noting that he “withdrew” from Elon Musk’s X “because of the negativity and the toxicity.”
Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis also came out to criticize the White House video, telling HuffPost that he did not condone his image or football highlights being used to compare football to war.
“The game I love is about discipline, brotherhood and respect. War is something else entirely. Lives are at stake. God bless our troops and their families,” said Lewis.
Clark told Taylor that “it is shameful at this point that our regime is as unserious, unprofessional, laughable and illegitimate as our leadership, and that it tells you the difference between a public servant and a reality star.”
A disappointed Clark suggested that the US had “lost all decorum” and “all character.” He called the White House post showing him and other NFL players “absolutely disgusting and despicable.”
“I don’t ask them or I don’t care if they take it down. I don’t care how long it takes. I don’t care that they didn’t ask me to do it because what I’ve learned now about our leadership is that they don’t care what we think,” Clark said.
“They don’t care what we say,” he continued. “It’s about what one person wants, and anything different from what they support is wrong and will be attacked.”
