While Ryan Clark and Aaron Rodgers have exchanged a few not-so-subtle shots over the years, the former Pittsburgh Steelers safety turned ESPN analyst recently retold an interaction between the two that has since gone viral.
According to Clark, he was looking forward to having a conversation with Rodgers at training camp — but the Steelers quarterback chose to ignore him.
“I have nothing against [Rodgers], he’s fine. I was like, ‘Man, I would love to sit with him.’ I’m a part of the history there,” Clark said on the Football America! podcast. “He’s the quarterback with our team now. I actually don’t dislike him. I want to sit with him, welcome him to Steelers Nation, and just kind of have a conversation. I didn’t want to have a conversation about that. I wanted to talk about his career. I have said over and over again, he’s the best quarterback I ever played against.
“He declined, he had other things to do, which I respected. But when we were pulling up to campus, he was talking to Arthur Smith when we were going up the hill. For me, if I truly don’t have an issue with you, I’m going to speak to you. I’m going to say hello. It’s rude not to, in my opinion. So he was talking to Arthur Smith. I talked to some of the guys I see coming from the special teams meeting. I roll the window down and I say, ‘What’s up guys.’ Arthur Smith kind of speaks. Aaron Rodgers looks at me and he doesn’t say anything.”
Clark concluded that he found humor in the moment and respected that Rodgers didn’t fake his feelings during the interaction.
If there’s one person who could extend the olive branch and broker peace following the once-ugly feud, it would be HC Mike Tomlin — someone both Rodgers and Clark share immense respect for.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Ex-Steelers FS Ryan Clark says Aaron Rodgers ignored him during visit