ESPN personalities Scott Van Pelt, Pat McAfee, and Ryan Clark have reversed their earlier statements agreeing with Ryan Clark about LSU football player Kylen Lacey potentially being not guilty in relation to a deadly car accident from December 2024.
Initially, Clark believed Lacey seemed innocent, but he has now changed his stance, admitting he should have considered all the evidence before making his comments.
Lacey was charged in January regarding the death of 78-year-old Herman Hall, a Marine veteran, in a Louisiana car accident last month. Prosecutors indicated that Lacey’s reckless driving caused Hall to panic, leading to a crash with another vehicle to avoid a head-on collision.
In a tragic turn, Lacey shot himself in April and subsequently led police on a high-speed chase, where he was found in his car with a gunshot wound.
Despite the ongoing discussions about the accident, Lacey’s attorneys recently shared a partial video from the incident in an interview, claiming it proved Lacey wasn’t to blame for Hall’s death.
After this, on SportsCenter, Ryan Clark maintained that Lacey categorically asserted his innocence.
“Kylen Lacy was on track for the NFL. He faced accusations of something he didn’t do and passed away knowing he was innocent, feeling the weight of guilt,” Clark stated, receiving full agreement from Van Pelt.
“It turned out he was 72 yards away from the accident site, and there were attempts by police to pressure him into making incriminating statements,” Clark added, restating Lacey’s innocence.
However, the Louisiana State Police later shared video footage of the entire incident, clearly indicating Lacey’s reckless driving was the primary cause of the fatal crash.
Following the release of this video, both Van Pelt and McAfee took back their statements about Lacey’s innocence.
On Wednesday, Van Pelt mentioned, “Late last week, attorneys for former LSU player Kylen Lacy shared a video that contested the version of events provided by Louisiana State Police concerning the December car crash that resulted in Herman Hall’s death.”
He went on to say, “On Tuesday, State Police released video evidence and recordings backing their initial conclusions, asserting that Lacey’s actions triggered the sequence leading to the accident. Lacey’s vehicle was seen traveling at high speed in the wrong lane just before the crash.”
“What happened in December was a senseless tragedy, made even worse by another lost life in April. We regret the incomplete information shared on our show on Monday night,” he concluded.
McAfee also expressed remorse for commenting before all the facts were fully gathered.
“We thought we understood the context. Now, with more video coming out, it shows Kylen Lacy on the wrong side of the road, causing the tragic accident. I apologize for contributing to the heated dialogue. We’ll keep you updated on this upsetting story concerning the athlete’s legacy,” McAfee noted on Tuesday.
Ultimately, Ryan Clark, who claimed to know Lacey personally, also offered an apology, acknowledging he should have waited for complete information. “It’s vital to gather all the facts to tell the full story, and I wasn’t able to do that when it was discussed live. For that, I’m sorry,” he remarked on Thursday.
