Former NFL tight end Dwight Clark was diagnosed with ALS over the weekend and the news sent shock waves throughout the football world. Unfortunately, that bit of unfortunate news made its way back into the consciousness on Wednesday and it came with a very insensitive quote from former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar.
In speaking with WKNR, ESPN-Cleveland, Kosar made what appeared to be an attempt at a joke about Clark's time as the director of football operations for the Browns. It did not go over well (h/t ESPN):
"We had a bad weekend with Gale Sayers being diagnosed [with dementia] ... Dwight Clark with ALS. I could make a joke about his struggles in picking players when he was here. It almost makes me wonder if maybe it started earlier."
Kosar later defended his actions on Twitter:
This is, of course, a brutal look for Kosar and his comments don't illustrate a full comprehension of the seriousness of the issue. While it can be explained away as a humor attempt, the notion that it was a laughing matter is simply misguided and Kosar certainly did not directly apologize during his Twitter comments after the fact.
Thoughts and prayers are with Dwight Clark and his family.
