admin
They told us politics and sports were supposed to be separate — then Governor Jeff Landry walked onto LSU’s campus, stood beside Mike the Tiger, and dared the Board of Supervisors to find a place for a Charlie Kirk statue to stand for free speech. The governor’s challenge lit a fuse that the establishment media and campus elites were itching to detonate, and ESPN’s Ryan Clark predictably exploded on air, telling Landry to “stay out of it.”
Make no mistake: Clark’s hollering wasn’t about protecting LSU or students, it was about preserving the left’s monopoly over campus culture. Clark even sneered that Kirk “doesn’t represent the people of Louisiana,” a convenient dodge from the larger point — Landry is standing up for free expression and pushing back against the cancel culture grip on our universities.
Here’s the reality the sports pundits refuse to put in context: the governor doesn’t speak from some outside perch — he appoints the LSU Board of Supervisors, and that board legitimately oversees the university’s direction and symbols. If conservatives want leaders who will protect speech and common-sense values on public campuses, they should be thanking, not trashing, a governor who actually uses his lawful authority to push back.
And while the culture war drama plays out, there’s a very real fiscal fight underway. LSU recently cut ties with Coach Brian Kelly, a decision that carries roughly a $53 million buyout — a staggering bill that people like Landry rightly say should not saddle ordinary taxpayers. That’s why the governor has been vocal about tighter oversight of athletics spending while also pressing for accountability from the university’s leaders.
Don’t let the media narrative fool you: opposition to honoring Charlie Kirk isn’t just principled concern, it’s often headline-driven virtue signaling from celebrities and student-athletes who dodge the tougher questions. Some LSU figures publicly objected to the statue idea, which is their right, but conservatives understand memorials are about ideas and bravery — not whether the mob likes the messenger. The debate about monuments should be settled by free citizens and trustees, not by cable pundits looking for clicks.
At bottom, this fight exposes two American truths: first, our public universities are battlegrounds for culture and speech; second, conservatives who hold power must use it to protect taxpayers, traditions, and free expression. If ESPN wants to lecture governors, they should stop pretending their outrage is apolitical; Ryan Clark’s screed was an attempt to silence a governor defending both fiscal responsibility and the First Amendment. Louisiana voters — and the rest of us who love free speech — should applaud that courage, not pander to the outrage machine.
