Misjudged and Misrepresented: The Legal and Moral Fallout of Kyren Lacy’s Death

The NFL draft is an event that is filled with joy. Lifelong dreams are fulfilled for many, and players never forget the moment they were drafted. In the months leading up to the 2025 NFL draft, standout LSU wide receiver Kyren Lacy was projected to be drafted in the top 50.¹ That was until he was arrested and charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run, and reckless operation of a vehicle.² The charges stem from a December 17, 2024, accident that killed a 78-year-old man.³

Police reported that the accident occurred when Lacy drove his Dodge Charger 88 miles an hour in a posted 40 mile per hour zone and attempted to pass at least four cars at once.⁴ Reportedly, the driver of a truck traveling in the other lane believed that Lacy was going to hit them and decided to turn right into a parking lot for their safety.⁵ A second vehicle was following too closely behind the truck and swerved into the oncoming lane to avoid a collision.⁶ At that point, the second car collided with the oncoming traffic head on and resulted in injuries that eventually killed the 78-year-old passenger.⁷

When news of Lacy’s arrest broke, his draft stock plummeted. He went from being a guaranteed top 50 pick to being lucky to be drafted at all. Many sports networks such as ESPN and even major news outlets reported the arrest. The media dogpiled Lacy and on April 12, 2025, he took his own life during a pursuit with police.⁸

Earlier this month, gas station surveillance footage as well as police body cam footage that appears to exonerate Lacy was released.⁹ Lacy’s lawyer, Matt Ory, insists that the footage, showing Lacy to be at least 70 yards behind the accident, proves Lacy’s innocence.¹⁰ He also claims that police body cam footage shows that the investigation was improperly done in order to paint Lacy as the perpetrator.¹¹ In particular, he points to a moment when an officer is obtaining a written statement from a witness in which the officer coaches the witness and states “make sure you add in there that you had to slam on your brakes, . . . that’s very important.”¹²

Following the release of the footage, multiple media companies and individuals apologized for their previous statements against Lacy, including Ryan Clark, Scott Van Pelt, and Pat McAfee.¹³ The apologies are a nice gesture but do little to rectify the situation. Apologies do not bring back Kyren Lacy. Apologies do not prevent his parents from losing their beloved son, they do not prevent his brothers from losing their older mentor, they do not prevent his teammates from losing one of their own. While nothing can ever fill the void that losing him has created, what remedies are available to the Lacy family?

One may recall the case of Michelle Carter, a high-profile matter in which Carter texted her boyfriend and convinced him to take his own life.¹⁴ Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.¹⁵ Additionally, many social media platforms have been sued for their role in the ongoing mental health crisis as well as cyberbullying related suicides.¹⁶ Given the circumstances, it seems unlikely that criminal charges would be applicable, but due to courts’ expansion of liability for suicides in the modern area, a wrongful death claim may be potentially applicable.

Included with the wrongful death claim may be a claim for lost wages. Kyren Lacy was on track to earn life-changing money for both himself and his family until this incident. A top 50 pick in the 2025 NFL draft would sign a contract worth anywhere between $48,757,500 and $8,805,580.¹⁷ Determining the exact amount that Lacy would have made would be difficult, but not impossible, leaving his family potentially able to recover for future earnings. Kyren Lacy’s family will never be made properly whole from the events that transpired, but some legal remedies may be available.

1. https://sports.yahoo.com/2025-nfl-draft-promising-wr-210637566.html ↩︎
2. https://abcnews.go.com/US/police-release-video-evidence-nfl-draft-prospect-kyren/story?id=126294993 ↩︎
3. Id. ↩︎
4. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/46552190/investigative-report-kyren-lacy-case-finds-inconsistencies-louisiana-state-police-report ↩︎
5. Id. ↩︎
6. Id. ↩︎
7. Supra, note 2. ↩︎
8. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2025/10/09/ryan-clark-apology-for-kyren-lacy-innocent-statement-after-new-video-evidence-lsu-car-crash/86605571007/ ↩︎
9. Supra, note 2. ↩︎
10. Id. ↩︎
11. Id. ↩︎
12. Id. ↩︎
13. Supra, note 8. ↩︎
14. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/23/us/michelle-carter-text-suicide-release ↩︎
15. Id. ↩︎
16. https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2024/02/mayor-adams-lawsuit-against-social-media-companies-fueling-nationwide-youth-mental-health ↩︎
17. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cba/rookie-scale/_/year/2025 ↩︎