AceShowbiz - Ryan Clark is defending himself. The former NFL player has responded to the heavy backlash he received after claiming that Chris Brown is more talented than the legendary Michael Jackson.

Taking to his Twitter account on Sunday, June 6, the 42-year-old veteran safety quote-retweeted TMZ's headline that read, "Ryan Clark Ripped For Saying Chris Brown's 'More Talented' Than Michael Jackson." Along with the outlet's post, the former athlete wrote, "It's because I'm right @TMZ," before adding, "Why is it this confusing @chrisbrown!"

Ryan sparked the controversy earlier that day. "Chris Brown is more talented than Michael Jackson… there I said it! Have a great week," he initially tweeted. In a follow-up post, he maintained his controversial statement as writing, "I do not care!! You out CB and MJ in the talent Olympics Chris Brown wins."

Upon learning of Ryan's posts, many social media users mocked him, including his colleague Marcus Spears. Marcus simply responded to Ryan's statements by leaving a "How?" GIF that saw a man looking disgusted.

Other Twitter users asked Ryan if he was drunk or high when tweeting his opinions. "Drinking early this morning??" one person questioned, while another said, "Whatever you're sippin on, I need it for later [laughing with tears emoji]."

A separate person quipped, "I trust you and highly respect you but maybe you are hangry or something! Stay happy!" with another urging Ryan to "stay off the shrooms." A fifth hilariously guessed, "Your next tweet, 'My account was hacked.' "

Someone else wrote, "The must [sic] absurd statement ever made in music history!!!! Please make an appointment to see a surgeon asap!!!" Meanwhile, another opined, "I have to disagree. There are hundreds of thousands of people who never heard a Chris brown song in there [sic] life. Everybody has heard at least one MJ song. They are not even in the same class."