CENTRAL, LA – Just hours after headlines were dominated by their high school baseball coach’s suspension for partially disrobing during a game, Central Mayor Wade Evans reportedly took swift action to reclaim the spotlight by removing his own shirt outside City Hall.
Witnesses say Evans exited the building Monday evening after an entire day of work, fully dressed, before abruptly stopping on the front steps, removing his shirt, and declaring, “We will not be outdone by athletics.”
City employees and passersby described the moment as “strategically distracting,” noting the mayor positioned himself roughly 100 yards from the long-stalled Sulivan Road widening project that has been the subject of repeated news coverage questioning why it’s still not finished.
Officials later praised the move, confirming it successfully redirected public attention, if only briefly, away from the ongoing construction.
“For a few minutes, nobody was asking about Sullivan Road,” one city spokesperson said. “That’s the kind of leadership you just can’t teach.”
Sources say the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has already approached Evans after seeing how he managed to take the attention off the widening project, offering him a statewide role posing shirtless at several of their most delayed sites. Officials believe the program could buy them “up to six more months per intersection,” though Evans has not yet confirmed whether he’s willing to expand his coverage area.
