Ryan Clark, ESPN analyst and former LSU football player, launched a scathing critique of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry on Thursday over two recent decisions involving LSU. Clark condemned Landry’s move to sideline Athletic Director Scott Woodward in selecting the university’s next head football coach and denounced the governor’s proposal to erect a statue of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus.
Landry had declared that Woodward would not be making the decision on LSU’s next head coach following the dismissal of Brian Kelly. Instead, he suggested that former President Trump would be consulted in the process. The move raised eyebrows across Louisiana, where the university’s football program is often treated with near-religious reverence and has traditionally been managed independently from political interference.
Clark, speaking on ESPN, called Landry’s statements “dumb” and accused the governor of not representing the values or interests of LSU’s students, athletes, or administration. He went further, labeling the statue idea the “most ridiculous” of Landry’s actions that week.
The Kirk statue proposal has sparked controversy. Landry argued it would honor free speech and conservative values. However, critics, including Clark, questioned whether Kirk represents LSU’s student body or Louisiana culture at large. Clark suggested that such a tribute would be inappropriate and divisive.
This isn’t the first time Clark has found himself at the center of controversy. He recently issued an on-air apology for wrongly defending a former LSU player based on an incomplete video. Authorities later clarified the video did not exonerate the player, forcing Clark to retract his earlier comments. He’s also apologized in the past for inflammatory remarks involving colleagues at ESPN and for making a racially charged comment involving a former coworker’s spouse.
Whether Clark walks back his remarks about Landry remains to be seen. What’s clear is that the clash between a politically outspoken governor and a high-profile sports analyst has opened a broader debate about the limits of political influence in public universities and the cultural direction of institutions like LSU.
