Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy slammed a reporter this week during a press conference after his team lost their bowl game.
The press conference took place Tuesday night after the Cowboy’s 24-17 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
A reporter asked Gundy, “With the portal now, staff changes happen earlier and earlier in the year … do you anticipate making any changes to your staff between now and the end of the season?”
“Do you think I would tell you if I was making staff changes?” an agitated Gundy responded. “Then why would you ask?”
When the reporter said it was his job to ask, Gundy responded, “Well, I might have to cut you out.”
“Don’t be an ass,” Gundy said. “Really? Those are people’s lives, man. That’s people’s families. Don’t mess with people’s families. Let’s do this the right way … it’s not fair to people’s families, man. I’m not mad about the game, I just don’t like ignorance.”
WATCH:
The ending of Mike Gundy’s press conference got extra frosty when he was asked about the potential of making any staff changes.
| #okstate | @ocollysports | pic.twitter.com/O6BRG6mO9L— Ben Hutchens (@Ben_Hutchens_) December 28, 2022
Back in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter riots, Gundy faced an outrage mob on Twitter that was led by one of his top players who disapproved of a t-shirt that he wore while fishing that featured the name of a conservative publication.
Chuba Hubbard, a running back from Canada, saw a picture of Gundy wearing the shirt on Twitter and responded by writing: “I will not stand for this. This is completely insensitive to everything going on in society, and it’s unacceptable. I will not be doing anything with Oklahoma State until things CHANGE.”
The tweet was retweeted tens of thousands of times and quickly generated headlines that Gundy attempted to quell by releasing a video with Hubbard, which didn’t do much.
Gundy later released a video in which he apologized for wearing the t-shirt.
“I had a great meeting with our team today. Our players expressed their feelings as individuals and as team members,” Gundy said. “They helped me see through their eyes how the t-shirt effected their hearts. Once I learned how that network felt about Black Lives Matter, I was disgusted and knew it was completely unacceptable to me.”
“I want to apologize to all members of our team, former players, and their families for the pain and discomfort that has been caused over the last two days,” Gundy continued. “Black lives matter to me, our players matter to me. These meetings with our team have been eye-opening and will result in positive changes for Oklahoma State football. I sincerely hope the Oklahoma State family near and far will accept my humble apology as we move forward.”