Ex-ESPN star Trey Wingo shades NFL Live viewership after claim that fired Ryan Clark built it

Trey Wingo came with receipts as everyone picks up the pieces of the fallout from ESPN’s bloodbath of layoffs this week.The former ESPN anchor, who was not retained in November 2020 after roughly 23 years with the company, commented on fellow ex-ESPNer Emmanuel Acho’s claim that the recently fired Ryan Clark “built NFL Live into the juggernaut that it is today,” although Acho did credit others too.Wingo posted a graphic showing a decline in “NFL Live” viewership over the past decade-plus.“Let your apology be as loud as your disrespect,“ Wingo responded to Acho, citing a remark the former NFL linebacker and ex-ESPN host made the day before.“I think somebody said that once.”Acho posted his controversial tweet Monday, the same day Clark found out during “NFL Live” that the company would be firing him in its mass layoffs.“Ryan Clark built NFL Live into the juggernaut it is today (along with [Laura] Rutledge, Mina [Kimes], and [Marcus] Spears),” Acho said in an X post.

“He didn’t *ideate* NFL Live, there’s a difference.”Wingo certainly has inside knowledge when it comes to “NFL Live.”He joined ESPN in the late 1990s and one of his signature responsibilities included hosting “NFL Live,” with Wingo helping build the show’s viewership after its 2003 launch.Wingo pointed out that “NFL Live” viewership peaked in 2013 with 688,000 viewers and has not reached those heights since, having instead been on a steady decline.Still, Wingo felt the need to defend his long-standing work on “NFL Live,” which included working alongside Adam Schefter, Mark Schlereth, Tedy Bruschi, Herm Edwards and Trent Dilfer.Wingo’s line about the apologizing being as loud as the disrespect referenced Acho’s comments after he apologized to Deebo Samuel for remarks about the Commanders receiver that the latter objected to.“NFL Live” enjoyed its ratings heyday from 2011-17, and Wingo left the show in 2017 for a failed radio opportunity with Mik...