"I hurt for his wife, Erika, and her kids": Oregon's Dan Lanning heartbroken on Charlie Kirk's death after "evil" shooting of conservative activist

Oregon coach Dan Lanning becomes the latest popular figure in the United States to react to the tragic death of Charlie Kirk. The conservative political activist was shot dead while on stage for a “Turning Point USA” event at Utah Valley University in Orem, UT, on Wednesday.

Following the Ducks’ road victory over Northwestern on Saturday, Lanning expressed his condolences to Kirk's family in his postgame press conference. The coach used the opportunity to call for a loving and tolerant society in the United States, like the one he’s built with his team.

“The US can learn a lot from our locker room,” Lanning said. “I think the people in this world can learn a lot from our locker room. You walk in that locker room. You got guys in different races, guys in different backgrounds, different religions, and you got a team that loves each other... And I think we're missing some of that in our country “I recently found out Charlie Kirk was a Oregon fan. I didn't know that. I hurt for his wife, Erika, and their kids like that. That sort of evil should never exist in our country, and that's what it is, evil. I remember having explaining that to my family. I remember sitting down my kids and explaining what happened, and they're talking about people talking about it at school, and it's just sad.”

Charlie Kirk was present at Autzen Stadium with his family last fall when Dan Lanning's team hosted Ohio State in a thrilling Big Ten contest. His tragic death has gained international attention, leading many prominent local and international figures to condemn any form of political violence.

Dan Lanning gives a lot of credit to Northwestern

Despite his team's 34-14 win over Northwestern on Saturday, Dan Lanning commended the display of the Wildcats in the Week 3 contest. The Oregon coach thumps up the team's execution of plays in the encounter, despite going three quarters without a point.

“I want to give a lot of credit to Northwestern,” Lanning said. “I thought they came out here with a good plan. They executed well on their side of the ball, and outside of some turnovers, I think they were right in this game. “They had a good plan, executed well. I thought we had some good answers, and were able to create some things, especially there early in the second half. Create some of our run game that we needed to have in this game. I thought our quarterback made great decisions.”

Oregon was the only undefeated team in the regular season in 2024. Dan Lanning and his team will aim to repeat that this season and have a better outing in the College Football Playoff. The Ducks have started the season on a brilliant note and will look to keep it up.

Edited by Farouk Yusuf