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Mike Gundy clarifies controversial comments regarding Ollie Gordon’s arrest as social media weighs in

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Mike Gundy has made more than his fair share of controversial comments during his head coaching career. Tuesday evening, Oklahoma State’s head coach found himself once again trying to clarify and walk back some comments he made regarding Ollie Gordon II.

The star running back and Heisman hopeful for the Cowboys was recently arrested on suspicion of DUI. In spite of the arrest, Gordon was still a representative for OSU at Big 12 Media Days with Gundy saying in an interview with ESPN’s Pete Thamel that the punishment for the RB would be “to face the music.”

“You’re not going to be hiding. You’re going to face the music, you are going to have to stand up, talk to people and answer questions,” said Gundy. “And hopefully, more than football you can learn from the situation you’ve been in. Because if not, then we’ve got a real issue.”

Gundy also said Gordon will not miss any time, and “if there’s any punishment it will be making him carry the ball 50 times in the first game.” However, those are not the most controversial of Gundy’s comments from Tuesday.

While talking with other ESPN hosts, Gundy said he looked up the legal blood-alcohol limit for Oklahoma. During his comments, Gundy said he thought “I’ve probably done that a thousand times in my life” without immediately clarifying his full intent.

“I looked it up on my phone, what would be the legal limit? In Oklahoma, it would be .08, and Ollie was .1. So I looked it up, and it was based on body weight — not to get into the legal side of it, but I thought really 2-3 beers, or 4,” said Gundy.

“I’m not justifying what Ollie did, I’m sharing what decision I made. Well I thought, I’ve probably done that a thousand times in my life, and it’s just fine. So I got lucky. People got lucky. Ollie made a decision that he wishes he could have done better.”

That specific quote caught the attention of many fans on social media, and Gundy attempted to clarify on social media. He claimed the specific comment was about everyone being “guilty of making bad decisions” and it was a comment about “something specific.”

Reaction

Regardless of Gundy’s clarification, many fans still felt the initial comment — and Gundy’s overall handling of the situation — is controversial in nature. Those on social media did not hold back, and it’s an interesting spot for Gundy to be in before we even hit August.

Take a look:

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.

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