Kirk Herbstreit defends criticism of Ohio State fans, calls them out for Ryan Day 'needing an armed guard 24/7'

ESPN analyst and broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit is one of the leading voices in all of college football. That has led to plenty of criticism of him when he says something that could be seen as controversial.

Those controversial comments recently extended to his description of some Ohio State fans as being a “lunatic fringe.” While Herbstreit was referring to a small group of people, he did end up garnering criticism for those comments. Still, while making an appearance on Andy & Ari On3, he defended his comments and called out fans for how they treat players and coaches like Ryan Day.

“Couple of things,” Kirk Herbstreit said. “I’ve been doing this almost 30 years. My 29th year of somebody being upset. Ohio State fans, a portion of them, have always been upset with me. It’s not like, ‘Wow, what am I gonna do the Ohio State are upset?’ I wasn’t even critical of Ohio State. I was critical of Ryan Day needing an armed guard 24/7 outside of his house. That’s what I was critical of. I was critical of some of the things they say to some of the players on social media. Here’s my problem. I talk to Will Howard. I talk to Ryan Day behind curtains. I hear the pain that they feel and they can’t say anything. I can. I’ll take the bullets.”

Much of the criticism of Ryan Day has come thanks to his struggles against Michigan and despite his success in the rest of his career at Ohio State. However, the fans Herbstreit is critical of extends to other sports.

“These guys that are on these teams — there was a basketball player at Ohio State. You probably remember his name,” Herbstreit said. “Number 32, the best player like two or three years ago. He’s at the foul line, he needed to make the front end of a one-and-one and I think he missed it. He was the best player on the team and he just got destroyed on social media because it was a tournament game and it would have advanced them to the next round and he missed them. I think he was going to transfer just because of the reaction, again, from the crazy part of the fanbase.”

Kirk Herbstreit, of course, has deep ties to Ohio State. He is an Ohio native who played football at Ohio State under John Cooper. Now, he has a son on the Buckeyes team playing for Ryan Day, which has kept him completely plugged into the program and those fans.

“So, I live for Ohio State and because that vocal, ‘newer,’ fan says things that hurts these players and coaches, I get defensive for them. I feel bad for them. I feel bad that Ryan Day’s son deals with stuff and his wife who just talked with me one-on-one asking me what I think — I mean, they’re devastated. I’m talking devastated and that hurts me for them that they deal with that. So, when I speak out I’m not just randomly speaking out. This is evidence and hardcore facts from players and coaches who confide in me because I’ve been around so long. I’m talking to them about my experiences, I’m encouraging them, I’m telling them don’t listen to that small percentage even though they’re vocal,” Herbstreit said.

“Ohio State has some of the best fans in sports. Plug into that group. They love you, they care about you, and when you lose they hurt for you. They’re not ripping you to shreds. So, you go back and really listen to what I said, I never was critical of Ryan Day and the team. I was more frustrated with the reaction from what these players deal with.”

The criticism of Kirk Herbstreit has a tendency to come from all angles. If he is positive about Ohio State, he might be criticized for being a homer. However, because he works for ESPN, that criticism is of how he covers other conferences that the network has deals with.

“So, have you guys watched me for 29 years in this era of shock jock, and throw shit against the wall, and who can say the craziest thing to go trending on Twitter,” Herbstreit said. “I’ve never done that in my life. I research and give you opinion. You don’t have to agree with it but it’s never an agenda, it’s never me getting upset about the Playoff. I’m a Big Ten guy. The SEC thinks I’m a Big Ten homer. They think I love Ohio State. I guess when you do what I do at the level I do it for this long, I guess you just piss everybody off, including your own fans, but I can say, ‘Great play by Jeremiah Smith,’ and someone at Ohio State would say, ‘Now you like him.’ Or an SEC fan, ‘Of course he’s sitting there bragging on Jeremiah Smith.’ It’s like holy shit.”

With the College Football Playoff semifinal around the corner and Ohio State still alive, Kirk Herbstreit will undoubtedly continue to have important opinions on the sport. Now, it will be interesting to see how fans react.