Mr BioFile Interviews by Scoop Malinowski
By Scoop Malinowski
Status: ESPN NFL analyst. Former NFL safety from 2002-2014 for New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers. Won Super Bowl in 2008 with Steelers. Also does the Pivot Podcast.
Ht: 5-11 Wt: 192
Born On: Oct. 12, 1979 In: Marrero, LA
Childhood Heroes: “Both my parents – Michael and Sheila Clark. The struggles they had to go through to send to me to good Catholic school. And being there for me in college.”
Nicknames: Bubba, Deuce, RC.
Hobbies/Interests: “I stay on the phone a lot with my family, my boys from home. I watch SportsCenter. In my house, ESPN’s on all day. If the female comes over and she can’t watch SportsCenter, she can’t come over [smiles]. I like to read. I’ve been getting into those love story books kinda, lately. I’ll be reading those…’Married Man’, ‘Men Cry In The Dark’, ‘Maintenance Man.'”
Early Football Memory: “When I was eight, playing at the playground. I moved up a level, so I was playing with the 10-year-olds. And my team was 0-10. My parents begged me to quit. They were like, I don’t even want to see you go through this! And it’s homecoming. And my coach threw me a hitch in the endzone and I went like 100 yards. And I passed out and fainted and I couldn’t play the rest of the game. You know how it is in Louisiana. So that was probably my best memory.”
Pre-Game Feeling: “Sometimes I just have to remind myself that I’m in the NFL. I wasn’t one of those guys that everything was my dream to be here. But just being here is such a blessing and so fascinating. So my pre-game ritual is really to just focus, think about my feelings about being out there.”
Funny Football Memory: “I got cold one day at the playground. And I told my dad, I’m cold and I got to go pee. And he’s like, just pee on yourself. And I scored a touchdown ’cause nobody on the other team wanted to tackle me [smiles]. ‘Cause you could see it all down my legs. We had white pants [smiles].”
Favorite Movies: “Next Friday, Training Day, Rocky IV.”
Musical Tastes: “R&B, rap, Jay-Z, Nas, Musiq, Indie.Arie.”
Favorite Meal: “Chicken and potatoes.”
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Cap’n Crunch.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Butter pecan.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning the Super Bowl with Pittsburgh (2008) And winning the Sugar Bowl. With LSU, at my hometown of New Orleans. That was probably my best moment. Being in front of my people, family and friends.”
Most Painful Moment: “I’d say…you can pick any of our losses in our sophomore year at LSU. We played three of the Top 25 teams to the last play. Played Georgia, at Georgia. We were down by one. Go for two. A man wide open in the endzone. Guy comes out of nowhere, knocks the ball down. I think that’s the most painful. Just because, for that split-second, I was like, Oh, we won the game! And they just took it away from us, just like that.”
First Job: “Summer camp counselor in high school (age 14).”
First Car: “1994 light pink Chevy S10.”
Closest NFL Friends: “Delvin Joyce. Right now, if he was my girlfriend, we’d have to breakup because I see him so much [smiles]. And Will Allen – a real close friend too.”
Funniest Players: “Me! No. The funniest guy right now, I’d have to go with Ron Dixon. And just the whole wide receiver corps. They’re always joking and laughing. And I have to go with Ron Dayne too. He makes nicknames. Ron Dixon is the team rapper, team songwriter. He writes songs, about himself mostly [smiles].”
People Qualities Most Admired: “I like to see honest, trustworthy and fun-loving people. And people who would give their last to someone who doesn’t have anything. Because that’s kind of how I am.”
Childhood Dream: “A coach. That’s always been my dream. To be a college football coach. That does what I say, wears what I want ’em to wear. That’s a part of me. That’s what I want to do.”
Family: Wife, Yonka; three children.
