Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy issues apology for controversial comment
Oklahoma State football fans desperately want a distraction from what is happening on the field , but controversial comments from their head coach is probably not what they had in mind. Mike Gundy, a soundbite machine who has drawn polarizing reactions throughout his near-20-year tenure in Stillwater, is apologizing for the comments he made while addressing the media on Monday.
When touching on the negativity surrounding the program amid its six-game losing streak, the three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year caused a stir with his choice of words .
"It's just on the bigger stage where people can voice their opinion, and in most cases, the people that are negative and voicing their opinion are the same ones that can't pay their own bills," Gundy said, per The Oklahoman's Scott Wright.
"They're not taking care of themselves," he continued. "They're not taking care of their own family. They're not taking care of their own job. But they have an obligation to speak out and complain about others because it makes them feel better. But then, in the end, when they go to bed at night, they're the same failure that they were before they said anything negative about anybody else."
Mike Gundy issues an apology
The point Gundy is clearly trying to make is that people who have their own adversity to contend with should not be hurling insults at others. Nevertheless, the "can't pay their own bills'"portion of his retort was bound to draw some public ire.
There are also many fans who have no interest in hearing any defensive statements while the Cowboys are still searching for their first win in conference play this season. He sought to make amends on Tuesday.
"I apologize to those who my comments during Monday's media call offended," Gundy posted on X. "My intent was not to offend any of our fans who have supported us and this program through the years."
The team is lumbering through the worst campaign of the Mike Gundy era. The former Big 12 champion is in the midst of his first losing season since he began manning the Oklahoma State sidelines in 2005. Losing naturally leads to more scrutiny, which puts the onus on the coach to be meticulous when speaking to the media. Given his history, this specific individual should be highly cautious while in the public eye.
The Oklahoma State football HC occasionally finds himself in the news
From the famous "I'm a man, I'm 40" rant back in 2007 to his questionable remarks about star running back Ollie Gordon's DUI arrest in the summer, Gundy has been known to raise eyebrows. Fair or not, the loss of any goodwill could be earned back by winning games.
Considering that Oklahoma State is alone in last place with a 3-6 record and has upcoming games against two of the better teams in the conference (Texas Tech and Colorado), Gundy will have to rely on other ways to smooth over what ever bad optics might have arisen from his last media session. The Cowboys travel to Fort Worth, Texas to face the TCU Horned Frogs (5-4) on Saturday night.
