Meet ex-ESPN analyst Ryan Clark’s supportive wife Yonka Clark – his college sweetheartLong-time ESPN host and former professional American football player Ryan Clark made headlines last week after he was let go from his job while filming an appearance on NFL Live.“Why wouldn’t I smile when my brothers are out here fighting battles bigger than mine?” Ryan Clark said in a post after being laid off from ESPN. Photo: @realrclark/InstagramClark was informed of the decision during the broadcast because ESPN feared the news would leak out before they could notify him, per The Athletic, and Clark did not finish the show. Clark is one of several high-profile sports analysts and commentators – among them, Stephania Bell, David Lloyd and Tom Pelissero – who have been let go this month amid ESPN’s ongoing restructuring. Clark had been a leading analyst for the network since early 2015.“I couldn’t have no beef. I couldn’t respond to disrespect,” Clark said on his podcast, The Pivot, which he hosts together with former NFL players Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder. “I knew, for lack of a better word, I couldn’t be too Black. What makes me sad is even in trying to adjust to being more of what certain people wanted, they still fired me.”Ryan Clark and his wife Yonka this month. Photo: @realrclark/InstagramFortunately for Clark, he has the support of his wife, who has stood by him throughout his NFL career, retirement from the sport and career at ESPN. Here’s everything to know about Yonka Clark.They are college sweetheartsRyan Clark and his wife Yonka met when they were just teenagers. Photo: @realrclark/InstagramYonka Clark hails from Louisiana. She told WAGs Redefined – a platform focusing on the stories of partners of athletes – that she first met Clark when she attended her cousin’s high school graduation picnic, and admitted the pair did not have a good first impression of each other. “I just felt like he was this arrogant football player and all the girls were falling all over him; I was not interested. He thought I was the snootiest, meanest girl he’d ever met,” she said.The pair reconnected at Louisiana State University, where they fell in love. The college sweethearts tied the knot in 2004 and have since welcomed two children, son Jordan and daughter Loghan. Ryan had his eldest child, daughter Jaden, with an ex-girlfriend when he was just 19.Ryan Clark, now 46, has played for NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders.Yonka Clark does not want to be labelled an NFL WAG