Emmanuel Acho backs Ryan Clark while calling out Cam Newton over Stephen A. Smith’s disrespect
The Cam Newton-Jason Whitlock fallout has pulled in another ESPN voice, and this one isn’t mincing words. Emmanuel Acho has entered the conversation, and he’s not landing on Newton’s side.
Emmanuel Acho is a former NFL linebacker who has built a media presence since retiring, most notably through his “Speakeasy” platform and his work on Fox Sports’ “Speak.” Ryan Clark, a Super Bowl-winning safety with the Pittsburgh Steelers, joined ESPN in 2015 and has been a fixture on “First Take” alongside Stephen A. Smith ever since.
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On Friday, Acho addressed Newton’s decision to host Jason Whitlock on his “4th & 1” podcast, a booking that allowed Whitlock to publicly attack Smith, Newton’s colleague at ESPN, without any real pushback from the host.
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“Bruh, to me, the code is the code,” Acho said on Speakeasy. “And what is the code? The code is simple: if your best friend or your homeboy breaks up with a girl, I’m not going to try to get with her, at least not immediately. In the same breath, that same code is, if you rock with a dude in Stephen A. Smith, I’m not gonna go talk to his very known and public op who has publicly slandered his name egregiously and offensively.”
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That framing “the code” is exactly what Clark leaned on when he first called Newton out on social media, writing that loyalty is “at a minimum these days.”
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Emmanuel Acho: “I side with Ryan on this.”
Emmanuel Acho pointed out something that Newton’s defenders have largely glossed over: the podcast’s viral moment had nothing to do with football.
“The only take from that conversation that has gone viral, the only one, is the Whitlock take about Stephen A. Smith,” Acho said.
“I don’t know if you asked him anything about sports. I don’t know if he answered. We ain’t hear about it. I side with Ryan on this, because I do think there’s a level of code and a level of respect between brothers that work with each other, work for each other, support each other.”
Newton has maintained he answers to no one when it comes to his platform.
Edited by nagpaltusharn25