Stephen A. Smith has been very vocal about his political affiliations and aspirations during this past year. He hasn’t held his tongue when criticizing other Democrats and Republicans. Stephen A. Smith runs the show on ESPN’s First Take and he doesn’t hesitate to put his other co-hosts on blast when they venture into what he now considers “his world” of politics.
Ryan Clark, decided to tackle the LSU- Governor Landry story with a rant against the governor’s latest actions that made Stephen A. Smith sit with his arms crossed, giving Clark the side eye.
Ryan Clark Blasts Govenor Landry For Suggesting Charlie Kirk Statue On LSU Campus
The Emmy-winning former NFL player who has taken his “Pivot” podcast to great heights has often been accused of playing the race card and criticized for commentary that some call divisive.
Critics of Clark’s latest rant are swarming because he criticized the Governor of Louisiana for suggesting that a Charlie Kirk statue should be erected on the campus of LSU. Ryan Clark wasn’t fleeing the idea and immediately ripped into Governor Landry, also for his comments on LSU’s coaching search.
“First off, it’s the second most ridiculous thing he’s said this week. The first was standing on campus and saying he wanted to put a statue of somebody (Charlie Kirk) that doesn’t represent the people of Louisiana, doesn’t represent the players and the students at LSU, doesn’t represent the executives that work there. That was the first dumb thing he said this week.”
Governor Landry did suggest that LSU should put up a statue in honor of the right wing political activist who was assassinated in September. The founder of Turning Point USA was building momentum as a voice of the new generation and Landry, who shares many of Kirk’s beliefs, suggested these things at a gathering for Kirk’s organization on campus.
Clark despised the ideas for all of the reasons he mentioned. The entire Charlie Kirk tragedy was not a unifying moment for the country and although he has a legion of supporters, Clark doesn’t feel his divisive rhetoric warrants a statue going up on LSU’s campus.
That was a moment, of course, for SAS to do some political grandstanding with his facial expressions.
Clark Also Criticized Governor Landry For Commenting On How School Will Hire Replacement For Brian Kelly
Clark was also critical of Governor Landry’s vocal stance on choosing the next head football coach now that Brian Kelly got bought out for $50M after an inauspicious four-year tenure.
Landry said that LSU’s athletic director, Scott Woodward, and the governor would not be in charge of choosing the football team’s next head coach. After pointing out past Woodward hires that thrived like Jay Johnson, the coach of LSU’s baseball team who just won the 2025 College World Series, and legendary LSU coach Kim Mulkey, Clark felt that Louisiana’s Governor was out of line and should have no input on the coaching situation at LSU. That amounts to nothing more than meddling.
“To me, this is another situation of politicians poking their nose into things they don’t know about. I honestly believe it was so he could get in front of a microphone and say, ‘Look at this connection I have to the president and he likes to pick winners’ so he can placate to someone he idolizes.
You don’t know nothing about football. There’s enough going on in the state of Louisiana that needs to be fixed for its constituents. I don’t need you tweeting on Saturday night about what’s going on at Tiger Stadium. There are too many issues happening right there under your nose that ain’t got nothing to do with sports.”
Ryan Clark was passionate about his position and despite Stephen A. Smith throwing him looks and trying to separate himself from Clark’s comments, he also knew that they held some validity.
Fans Were Split On Clark’s Comments
Fans on social media didn’t hesitate responding to Clark’s strong take against a Charlie Kirk statue on LSU’s campus. Some even called for his job.
Said one anti-Clark person on X: “Ryan Clark is not worth the trouble for ESPN. In the past 4 months, he has:
–race-shamed someone for marrying a white woman
–belittled a colleague on and off air
–called a cop a “criminal” based on incomplete info”
“Someone should show Ryan the reaction of LSU fans when they honored Charlie Kirk,” said one fan.
“So a politician needs to stay in his lane. But an athlete can talk politics all he wants! GTFO!,” quipped another.
“When does ESPN fire this guy? Outwardly racist in every aspect,” a third fan complained.
Some people also got a kick out of the way SAS just stared at Clark.
“Stephen A like… ‘I say the dumbest sh*t all the time but my boy right here… he bout to be fired’, joked one netizen.
Plenty of fans, who support Charlie Kirk criticized Clark for mixing politics and sports. Others had no problem with Clark telling the truth about how some people feel in the LSU community.
“This is dumb. He didn’t trash Charlie Kirk at all. He simply stated that a Christian, political, activist doesn’t necessarily belong being “idolized” and attached to a top tier football program. I love Charlie, I love what he stood for, but Ryan is not wrong here,” said one fan on X.
–took shot at Charlie Kirk on ESPN
LSU Star Flau’jae Johnson Agrees With Ryan Clark
Ryan Clark is not the only LSU athlete to speak out. LSU women’s basketball star Flau’jae Johnson publicly opposes Governor Landry’s proposed erecting a statue of assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk at LSU to promote free speech on campus the idea on social media, criticizing Kirk’s rhetoric on race and asking supporters of his views to unfollow her. The proposal has sparked divisions among LSU students, faculty, alumni, and online users, with debates centering on Kirk’s legacy and its relevance to the university.
Johnson responded to Landry’s video note with four question marks before writing a follow-up post that anyone who supports Kirk should stop reading her page ASAP.
“For the sake of clarity,” she said in the X message, “if you align yourself with or endorse his racist rhetoric and discriminatory views toward people of color, I respectfully ask that you utilize the unfollow option at the top right of my profile.”
Charlie Kirk is still a sensitive issue throughout the country with people divided on what his true legacy represents. Clark didn’t hold back on his feelings abotu a stature and the governor’s involvement in football affaird at LSU. Stephen A. Smith, it seems, wanted no parts of that discussion and looked at Ryan as if he was dipping into waters that Smith would not throw him a life preserver to get out of if needed.
