Two weeks after the gut-wrenching passing of Southwest Mississippi Community College’s Nolan Wells, the football world continues to mourn.
On Monday, Wells’ funeral was held two weeks after he and a group of friends took a boat trip to Horn Island for a Fourth of July celebration. The 18-year-old was the only friend to not return, his body tragically found face down in the water off the shoreline of the island on July 6.
Wells and his family continue to receive an outpouring of love from far and wide.
Ryan Clark Gives Heartfelt Response to Tragic Passing of Nolan Wells
“The Pivot,” hosted by ex-NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder, typically provides discourse ranging from hot takes to trash talk and anything in between. However, after the devastating passing of Wells, the crew could not help but give their feedback and sympathize with all involved.
The longtime Pittsburgh Steeler opens the discussion, expressing the unfathomable nature of Wells’ passing.
Nolan Wells’ passing has left so many of us with heavy hearts & even more questions. As a parent, I can’t imagine the pain of losing your child without knowing why or how.
Parenting is teaching your children that their worth is never defined by the color of their skin, while… pic.twitter.com/HpX0pA6WGM
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) July 18, 2026
“What happened to Nolan Wells is a parents worst nightmare, my condolences to them,” began Clark. “To lose your child, not have an answer to how or why, and to seemingly feel like people who are close to him aren’t willing to help you find the answer to those questions has to be extremely difficult.”
Clark continued, “Being a parent, at least for me, it was teaching my children that the color of someones skin, their ethnicity, their background, wasn’t what dictated their worth while also helping them realize that not everybody thinks that way.”
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The 2009 Super Bowl champion carries on, speaking with remorse, sorrow, and empathy as he discusses certain differences between his generation growing up and kids/children today.
“We grew up differently than our kids,” said Clark. “My kids grew up more fluent in different environments. My kids grew up as the different kids, the special kids. So the realization or the first time that Loghan [Clark’s daughter] was told, ‘well you’re different, you’re not like the rest of them, that’s why I treat you different than I treat them.’
“Or the first time Jordan [Clark’s son] liked a little girl and was told that little girl couldn’t date him because of what he looked like. That realization for our kids was difficult, but it was a part of life. So I often question, ‘did I do my kids a disservice telling them to love everyone knowing that not everyone will love them back?'”
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Clark’s powerful sentiment speaks to parents’ ability to trust those who enter their children’s lives, as it means everything. The 46-year-old’s story leads him to further express his desire that the Wells family get the answers they so desperately deserve.
The one-time Pro Bowler concludes by acknowledging the harsh reality that this topic has not gone away, and that until it does, further discussion must continue.
“We don’t know the answer to this question, but this is the question,” poses Clark. “‘If the roles were reversed, what would be the outrage? What would be the rhetoric? What would be the reaction?'”
Clark addresses the likely response and what he would say to those who do:
“I know people are going to say, ‘if we don’t stop talking about things like this, than things like this will never go away.’ My answer to that is, ‘when things like this go away, we’ll stop talking about it.'”
There is no denying the outpouring of love, support, and overall outreach for Wells and his family. While Clark’s heartfelt story and message may not resolve anything in the short term, it is yet another call to action to change the tragic ways of our current world for the long term.
