Ryan Clark apologizes for Kyren Lacy comments: ‘Nothing matters to me more than the truth’

With new evidence being shared by Louisiana State Police, Ryan Clark issued an apology after previously proclaiming Kyren Lacy’s innocence on ESPN.

Lacy, a former LSU wide receiver and NFL prospect, was arrested and charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run with death, and reckless operation of a motor vehicle in January. The charges stemmed from a fatal car crash in Louisiana that killed 78-year-old veteran Herman Hall on Dec. 17, 2024. Days before a grand jury hearing on his case in April, Lacy took his own life.

Last week, Lacy’s attorney released a video that implied the former LSU wide receiver was nearly a football field’s length behind the fatal crash. Clark reacted to that video on-air after Monday Night Football alongside Scott Van Pelt, and passionately proclaimed Lacy’s innocence.

Tuesday morning, Louisiana State Police explained why Lacy was charged and released a video of their own, which showed his reckless driving may have led to a chain of events that caused the fatal accident. In light of the new video, Clark apologized Thursday morning on First Take for his previous assessment of the allegations against Lacy.

“On Monday night’s SportsCenter, I addressed the horrific car crash that took Mr. Hall’s life, and also the subsequent tragic events that left to the death of Kyren Lacy. In full transparency, I knew Kyren Lacy personally. But nothing matters to me more than the truth,” Clark said. “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 Monday night based on the subsequent evidence that has been released by the Louisiana State Police department.”

Clark said he has since spoken to Lacy’s representation and similarly requested to speak with a representative from the Louisiana State Police department about the incident. However, because it’s an ongoing litigation, State Police declined to speak with Clark.

In response to the video released by Lacy’s attorney last week, Clark offered the following defense of the former LSU wide receiver while sitting alongside Van Pelt on SportsCenter Monday night.

“Kyren Lacy was supposed to be in the NFL. Kyren Lacy was accused of something and being investigated for something that he didn’t do,” Clark said Monday night. “And he died having to live with the guilt and the consequences of a guilty man, knowing he was innocent…There were so many stations that ran the fact that he was being investigated so I wanted to make sure here with Scott, we could say that he was an innocent man and at least know that he has that as he rests.”

But counter-evidence shared by Louisiana State Police led to Clark’s apology on First Take Thursday morning.

“It’s always important to me that I gather all factual and important information to provide the complete story. That’s a responsibility that I do not take lightly,” Clark continued on Thursday. “And when discussed in real time on Monday evening, I failed to do so. And for that, I apologize.”

Clark’s apology came after Scott Van Pelt and Pat McAfee issued similar apologies as evidence provided by Louisiana State Police potentially changed their perspective of Lacy being charged in this case.

This is the third notable apology by Clark in recent months, who also apologized after a feud with Robert Griffin III, and again after an on-air interaction with his ESPN’ Peter Schrager.