Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa clapped back at former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark on Wednesday, telling the ESPN analyst to keep his name out of his mouth after he criticized him about his weight.
The usually affable Tua Tagovailoa showed a more animated side of his after NFL analyst Ryan Clark provided disparaging comments about him during a recent episode of ESPN’s NFL Live.
This is the video Tua Tagovailoa is responding to: pic.twitter.com/KJPcoSAa6c https://t.co/5HIPT8EWdD
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 23, 2023
Recapping Tagovailoa’s performance vs. Houston in Saturday’s 28-3 win in its penultimate preseason game, Clark made fun of the ex-Alabama quarterback, suggesting he hasn’t worked out adequately this offseason and that his back resembles that of a stripper.
‘I can tell you what he wasn’t doing: He wasn’t in the gym, I’ll bet you that,’ Clark said on ESPN.
‘He might spend a lot of time in the tattoo parlor – he was not at the dinner table eating what the nutritionist had advised.
‘He looks happy. He is thick. He’s built like girls working at Onyx in Atlanta right now on the bottom.’
Tagovailoa struggled to stay healthy through his first three seasons, t then he seems to have gained muscle this off-season to help prepare for the 2023 campaign.
“You think I wanted to build all this muscle? Nah,” Tagovailoa said in sending a verbal message to the ESPN analyst. “To some extent, I wanted to be a little lighter.
“There is a mixture of things people don’t understand or know about that are talked about that go on behind the scenes. I’d appreciate it if you kept my name out of your mouth.”
The Dolphins will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in their final preseason game at 7 p.m. EDT Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla. They will open the season against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 10 in Inglewood, Calif.
#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
‘I’d appreciate it if you kept my name out of your mouth,’ Tagovailoa said. ‘That’s what I’d say.
‘It’s a little weird when other people are talking about other people when they’re not that person. It’s just a little weird. My background is I come from a Samoan family.
‘Respect is everything, but it does get to a point where “Hey, little easy on that, buddy.” I think we’re pretty tough-minded people, and if we need to get happy, we can get scrappy too. Just saying.
Tagovailoa has worked to put on muscle this offseason to better protect himself after suffering two concussions during the 2022 season, which threw his football future into question.
‘We all worked hard throughout the offseason, and I’m not someone to talk about myself the entire time, but it takes a lot. Do you think I wanted to build all of this muscle? Nah. To some extent, I wanted to be a little lighter. I don’t know.
Meanwhile, Clark’s only response thus far was a quote tweet saying ‘still feel the exact same’ regarding a 2022 tweet where he said I think it’s stupid that players and coaches have to answer questions about what an analyst says on TV.
