The comment wasn't smart, but the guy has a mike in his face looking for comments at every turn 24/7/365. No one is perfect.
I believe if Clay could have been out there, he would have.
Problem is, it doesn't seem like just a poor choice of words here. Sometimes what the microphone gets is out of context, but other times they get admissions and the truth. This seems like the latter: it wasn't a debilitating injury that kept him from being able to help the team, it was "a bunch of things" that left him "not confident in putting (himself) out there," such that he "had to take care of #1."
If that's out of context, I'd sure like to hear the whole interview. Those quotes sure sound like he could have played (albeit banged up), but that he chose not to. And no it wasn't the reason we lost, but it sure didn't help.
Anyway, it's not a witch hunt. IMO a little fan backlash won't hurt CMIII, it can only help. He said it, not us. If it is out of context or a poor choice of words, then prove us wrong there Goldilocks!