Full story from this evening:
https://oklahoma.rivals.com/news/bolton-sets-record-straight
UPDATE 8:31p:
**********************************
Still talking to him:
Opening statement:
"It kinda blows my mind that someone ... at the end of the day, reporters aren't gonna report something if they don't trust their source. So the fact that story got out meant the reporter obviously felt like it was somebody close to the locker room or in the locker room that would drop a story like that. This is an intense sport.
"Obviously, things are heightened in Texas week. But for someone to drop that there was this big fist fight in the locker room, it just blows my mind. Not even from my end, just from this team. It makes the team look bad. I couldn't care less if people think I fought my coach. My coaching staff knows what happened. My teammates know what happened. At the end of the day, there was no huge argument. There was no huge fist fight. I was a little frustrated with how we were playing. I was a little frustrated that I didn't play in the second quarter. We got in the locker room and I got my checks through my coaches and things got heated in there. Just how they always do. That's how it goes.
"A guy like me, sometimes I just need my space. I was getting a little too riled up in there. The crazy thing about it is that me and Coach Stoops didn't personally exchange a word in the locker room. So it's crazy to me that someone would drop that. Coach Stoops was pissed off at how we were playing, and he has every right to be. He was defensive coordinator at the time. We weren't playing good. We weren't playing up to the standard. That's not the problem I had.
"My problems were more internally. I didn't have a problem with Coach Stoops at halftime. I just needed to get some air. Next thing you know, people see me walking out of the locker room pissed off, and all this, I quit on my team, this and that. I just wanted to nip that in the bud where it stood because I care about this team. I love this team. I love my teammates. I care about my coaches. I trust my coaches. I'm not gonna walk out on them. I needed some air. That's all that was. I needed some air to lock in.
"I think I came out in the second half and played pretty good personally. We had a lot to work on defensively. That was more for me just to get locked back in. I love this team. I'm not gonna quit on it. I didn't spend four years on the bench to work my tail off, get a starting spot in my senior year and then walk out in the Texas game. I'm a leader of this team. I could have handled it better, of course. That's just reflection. I could handle situations like that better. It's not about me anymore. I'm a senior. I make a lot of plays for this defense. I've gotta set an example for our team. I can handle that better.
"But at the end of the day, this story where me and Coach Mike are in a fist fight in the locker room is completely untrue. The fact that it was out there kinda pissed me off, but like I said before, it is what it is. The story dropped. It came out. It's not true. Things happen the way they happened last week with Coach Mike personally and I've got nothing but love for that man.
"Going forward, I'm praying for him and his family that things get figured out on his end and he finds something somewhere that he can strive at. But for me, I'm moving forward. Texas game is over. There are a lot of things ... I could've played better. I could have handled the halftime situation better, but at the end of the day, that's all in the past now. I'm focused on TCU. I have been since Sunday after the Texas game, so that's what I'm focused on now. It is what it is."
https://oklahoma.rivals.com/news/bolton-sets-record-straight
UPDATE 8:31p:
**********************************
Still talking to him:
Opening statement:
"It kinda blows my mind that someone ... at the end of the day, reporters aren't gonna report something if they don't trust their source. So the fact that story got out meant the reporter obviously felt like it was somebody close to the locker room or in the locker room that would drop a story like that. This is an intense sport.
"Obviously, things are heightened in Texas week. But for someone to drop that there was this big fist fight in the locker room, it just blows my mind. Not even from my end, just from this team. It makes the team look bad. I couldn't care less if people think I fought my coach. My coaching staff knows what happened. My teammates know what happened. At the end of the day, there was no huge argument. There was no huge fist fight. I was a little frustrated with how we were playing. I was a little frustrated that I didn't play in the second quarter. We got in the locker room and I got my checks through my coaches and things got heated in there. Just how they always do. That's how it goes.
"A guy like me, sometimes I just need my space. I was getting a little too riled up in there. The crazy thing about it is that me and Coach Stoops didn't personally exchange a word in the locker room. So it's crazy to me that someone would drop that. Coach Stoops was pissed off at how we were playing, and he has every right to be. He was defensive coordinator at the time. We weren't playing good. We weren't playing up to the standard. That's not the problem I had.
"My problems were more internally. I didn't have a problem with Coach Stoops at halftime. I just needed to get some air. Next thing you know, people see me walking out of the locker room pissed off, and all this, I quit on my team, this and that. I just wanted to nip that in the bud where it stood because I care about this team. I love this team. I love my teammates. I care about my coaches. I trust my coaches. I'm not gonna walk out on them. I needed some air. That's all that was. I needed some air to lock in.
"I think I came out in the second half and played pretty good personally. We had a lot to work on defensively. That was more for me just to get locked back in. I love this team. I'm not gonna quit on it. I didn't spend four years on the bench to work my tail off, get a starting spot in my senior year and then walk out in the Texas game. I'm a leader of this team. I could have handled it better, of course. That's just reflection. I could handle situations like that better. It's not about me anymore. I'm a senior. I make a lot of plays for this defense. I've gotta set an example for our team. I can handle that better.
"But at the end of the day, this story where me and Coach Mike are in a fist fight in the locker room is completely untrue. The fact that it was out there kinda pissed me off, but like I said before, it is what it is. The story dropped. It came out. It's not true. Things happen the way they happened last week with Coach Mike personally and I've got nothing but love for that man.
"Going forward, I'm praying for him and his family that things get figured out on his end and he finds something somewhere that he can strive at. But for me, I'm moving forward. Texas game is over. There are a lot of things ... I could've played better. I could have handled the halftime situation better, but at the end of the day, that's all in the past now. I'm focused on TCU. I have been since Sunday after the Texas game, so that's what I'm focused on now. It is what it is."
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