‘You Do Know I Almost Died There, Right?’ Ryan Clark Silences ESPN First Take Set After Host Mocks the Impact of Denver Altitude

The set of ESPN’s First Take fell silent on Tuesday morning when a conversation about the NBA playoffs got a little too real.

While the crew was previewing the Western Conference Finals series between the Denver Nuggets in Los Angeles Lakers, host Molly Qerim read a quote from Lakers forward LeBron James about Denver’s altitude being a serious adjustment. Former NFL safety Ryan Clark reiterated James’ point, but Qerim continued to question if the altitude was really that big a deal.

That’s when things got awkward.

“Molly, you do know I almost died there, right?” Clark said. “So yeah, I would think it’s a big difference.”

Qerim, JJ Reddick and Stephen A. Smith remained silent when Clark spoke.

In 2005 — as a member of Washington Redskins — Clark made his first trip to Denver to take on the Broncos. After the game, he felt abdominal pain but got through it.

In 2007 — now with the Pittsburgh Steelers — Clark was once again in Denver. This time, however, the illness was much more severe. He was hospitalized and diagnosed with a splenic infarction. Clark dealt with the illness for a month, lost 40 pounds, and had multiple organs removed. Doctors discovered the complications stemmed Clark having sickle cell trait, which doesn’t do well with high altitudes.

He missed the rest of the 2007 season before making his return to the Steelers in 2008.

“I played there and I lost my spleen, my gallbladder, piece of my liver,” Clark said. “So I agree with LeBron. I think playing in Denver is terrible.”

Watch above via ESPN