Longtime ESPN analyst Ryan Clark issued an apology on Thursday for some recent comments he made about the fatal car crash that former LSU star wide receiver Kyren Lacy allegedly caused last year.
Lacy turned himself in to authorities in December 2024 after he was wanted on charges for negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run with death and reckless operation of a vehicle. The late wide receiver was accused of driving recklessly and causing a crash in Gray, Louisiana, that resulted in the death of 78-year-old Herman Hall.
Days before a grand jury was set to begin hearing evidence in his case in April, Lacy led police on a high-speed chase and then committed suicide.
In a recent interview with HTV 10 in Louisiana, Lacy’s attorney Matt Ory shared surveillance footage from a nearby gas station that he presented as proof that Lacy did not cause the crash that killed Hall. Ory admitted that Lacy passed several cars but said Lacy’s green Dodge Charger was more than 70 yards behind the other vehicles at the time of impact. Ory argued that Lacy was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and did not cause the crash.
Ryan Clark proclaims that Lacy was ‘innocent’
Clark felt that the evidence presented by Ory was proof enough that Lacy was “innocent.” He addressed the situation on “SportsCenter” after ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Clark confidently stated that Lacy “was accused of something and being investigated for something that he didn’t do.”
“He died having to live with the guilt and the consequences of a guilty man, knowing he was innocent. It recently was discovered that he was 72 yards away from the crash, that police and state policemen tried to coerce and doctor and use ways to manipulate statements that put this young man behind bars,” Clark said.
Scott Van Pelt, who hosts the late edition of “SportsCenter,” agreed with Clark and said his hands were shaking after he saw the “video that shows that this is not at all what happened, and that young man took his life.”
Kyren Lacy was supposed to be on a NFL field this weekend. That made it important to say “Kyren Lacy was innocent” on ESPN before the night ended. His name and face were plastered everywhere when he was under investigated. So it’s only right we say it now!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) October 7, 2025
There’s no amount of… pic.twitter.com/P9ddR97iU9
Ryan Clark apologizes after police release new evidence
In response to the claims from Lacy’s attorney, the Louisiana State Police Department released new video this week that shows Lacy’s green Dodge Charger traveling in the wrong lane at a high rate of speed just before the crash. A narrator explains that the car driven by Lacy “triggered the chain of events involving the other drivers and ultimately resulted in the fatal crash.”
The video also featured body-worn footage from a responding officer in which numerous witnesses explain how Lacy’s reckless driving caused the fatal accident.
JUST IN: New video evidence appears to contradict claims made by ESPN announcers and the lawyer for LSU star Kyren Lacy for his alleged part in a deadly 2024 car crash.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 7, 2025
Lacy sadly took his own life following a deadly car accident in December of 2024.
Lacy's attorney, Matthew… pic.twitter.com/OP5dQXcrf3
The new evidence put Clark in the all-too-familiar spot of having to issue an apology during Thursday morning’s edition of “First Take.”
“In full transparency, y’all, I knew Kyren Lacy personally, but nothing matters to me more than the truth. I always strive to do my best to mix authenticity with the most complete and up-to-date information available. I failed to do that on Monday night, based on the subsequent evidence that has been released by the Louisiana State Police Department,” Clark said.
"I knew Kyren Lacy personally…it's always important to me that I gather all factual and important information to provide the complete story…and when discussed in real time on Monday evening, I failed to do so. And for that, I apologize." – Ryan Clark pic.twitter.com/QnooNsHGND
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 9, 2025
Van Pelt also apologized during “SportsCenter” on Wednesday night.
$Al981 pic.twitter.com/ylBxXprT8l
— Al (@Al_S36) October 9, 2025
Ryan Clark has done a lot of apologizing in 2025
The on-air apology was Clark’s second in roughly a month. The former NFL safety also apologized in September after he berated fellow analyst Peter Schrager while the two were discussing the Dallas Cowboys.
Not long before that, Clark was forced to issue an apology after he argued that Robert Griffin III’s opinions on WNBA star Angel Reese are not valid because RG3 is married to a white woman.
There have been calls over the years for ESPN to discipline Clark for the way some of his controversial takes have backfired, but the network has yet to do that.
