Ryan Clark defends Washington Redskins locker room, criticizes media

Following reports about how Washington Redskins players acted postgame Monday, safety Ryan Clark had a lot to say Wednesday.

Wide receiver Pierre Garcon and left tackle, and offensive captain, Trent Williams exchanged banter when DeSean Jackson did his postgame interview with the media after the Seattle Seahawks beat the Redskins, 27-17. They yelled and laughed.

That led to several questions Tuesday for coach Jay Gruden about the locker room atmosphere and if losing seemed acceptable to the team. He said it was not, and he would look into what occurred after the game.

Which left the stage set for Clark on Wednesday. He began by addressing football-specific things.

“It’s about going out there and making plays,” Clark said. “It’s on us to find a way to do enough of those things that help you win games. We haven’t done those. And, it’s about the work, it’s about the preparation. So, for me, I’m not necessarily frustrated with the situation as I am the way we’ve approached getting out of the situation.”

He eschewed the idea there should be a sense of urgency now, pointing out there are only 16 games to begin with.

“There’s always a sense of urgency,” Clark said. “I guess it would be cool for me to be like, we’ve lost such and such games in a row, we’re 1-4, the sense of urgency is heightened, but that’s dumb. If you don’t go out every week willing to give a hundred percent of your mind and body to win football games, if it takes losses to make you feel that way, you’re a loser before you got out there.”

Eventually, Clark, who works in the offseason on television for ESPN as an NFL commentator, derided the media for not having played in the NFL. He said that meant reporters did not know how players should act following a loss.

“There’s been a big deal made in the media about people behaving a certain way after a loss,” Clark said. “As a media guy, I ask y’all a question. How do you handle losing in the NFL? I’m just waiting for the first person that lost one. Oh, that’s just me, right? That’s my point. Y’all have no idea how somebody is supposed to behave after a loss.

“Y’all have no idea if they can laugh, if that’s the right way to handle it. Y’all have no idea if I get pissed off and don’t want to talk to y’all, if that’s the right way to handle it. Does that show I’m upset about a loss? If when you guys come to talk to me, I don’t want to give you a quote. Well, then you say, man, that Ryan Clark, he really cares. He lost a game and refused to talk to us. No, then, you would write that I’m a sore loser. You would write that after wins, Ryan Clark is willing to talk to the media, but today he didn’t.

“But you’re saying because a certain group of people behaved a certain way, they don’t care. But, you don’t know that, because you haven’t been in that position. None of you guys know that. Now, what you do after you lose a game that says whether or not you’re a professional, what says whether or not you care, is the way you come to work the next week. This morning, I walked in the building at 6 o’clock, because I care. I sat in the meeting room by myself, because I care. That’s what y’all don’t see.

“You’d rather write about somebody’s laughing or somebody’s joking, doesn’t matter. Whether they laugh or joke or pissed off or throw a helmet, is not going to change what happened those 60 minutes on the grass. But it’s about how you prepare on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday for the next Sunday game. That’s the mark of a man, mark of an athlete, the mark of a player. And, that’s what I’m looking for.”