What happened with Kyren Lacy is a great tragedy.
Lacy was a standout wide receiver at LSU and looked destined to be a high draft pick. In January 2025, he was accused of causing a fatal collision on a Louisiana highway the previous month. He was arrested and charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run with death, and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.
In April, Kyren Lacy took his own life after an argument with family members just days before a grand jury hearing on the case.
However, last week, video emerged from Lacy’s attorney that showed the former LSU star was not near the crash scene at the time of the accident, seemingly exonerating him from the charges. The video was shocking in that it called into question the scene surrounding the accident.
The emerging video has caused everyone to take a second look at what happened with Kyren Lacy and the rush to judgment that ensued. It’s clear that the case is much more complex than what had initially emerged.
After the Monday Night Football game on ESPN between the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars, fellow LSU alum Ryan Clark took a moment out of the postgame with Scott Van Pelt to pay tribute to Lacy.
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!
There’s no amount of… pic.twitter.com/P9ddR97iU9
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) October 7, 2025
“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. And 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. They changed his joy, they changed his life, and eventually he took his own life.”
“At some point throughout his career I would have expected to say his name. So I’m going to say his name tonight. Kyren Lacy was innocent. Kyren Lacy should be here with us. Nothing will ever repair or replace the pain that his parents have to feel and his loved ones have to feel. But we can say his name. 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,” Clark concluded.
“I can’t recall seeing something that made me react viscerally to the point that it felt like my hands were trembling to think there was video that shows this is not at all what happened and that man took his life,” Van Pelt added.
On Tuesday morning, the Louisiana state police responded with videos of their own that gave their viewpoint on Lacy’s alleged involvement and why he was charged in the case. They affirmed that Lacy did not strike any vehicle and was behind the accident scene, but said that his reckless driving beforehand triggered a chain of events that caused the crash.
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