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OSU football: Mike Gundy says Cowboys have 'good days ahead' after talk with Chuba Hubbard
by JACOB UNRUH
Published: Mon, June 15, 2020 2:07 PM Updated: Mon, June 15, 2020 7:48 PM
Baby, Come Back??? 
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State superstar running back Chuba Hubbard and head coach Mike Gundy ended the 51-second video with a hug.
Earlier Monday, they were on opposite sides.
A wild day that began with Gundy wearing a T-shirt of One America News Network, rated by Media Bias/Fact Check as far-right, pro-Trump cable news network founded in 2013 and known to push conspiracy theories.
- “This afternoon has been very disturbing,” he wrote. “The tweets from the current and former players are of grave concern.”
As protests continue across the country against racial injustice, the damage might have already been done around the program.
Hubbard’s tweet went viral and several players posted their support, including superstar receiver Tylan Wallace, the entire Cowboys offensive line and key defensive players.
“It’s About Way More Than Football!!!” Wallace tweeted.
OSU linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga, who is Hubbard’s roommate and a fellow Canadian, tweeted: “I stand with him!” Ogbongbemiga later tweeted that all players will resume activities after the video was posted.
Even former linebacker Patrick Macon, who transferred to USF before last season, criticized Gundy in a tweet to current defensive back Kanion Williams.
“Damn @KanionW I was Threaten I Was Gonna Get Sent Back To The Hood Numerous Time... How Many Times Did He Say He Was Gonna Send You Back To South Dallas?” Macon tweeted.
Gundy made national waves in April with comments supporting OANN during an hour-long teleconference.
“I tell you what's funny is, I was flipping through stations. I found one — I don't even know if anybody knows about this — it's called OAN,” Gundy said in April. “It's One America News. And it was so refreshing. They just report the news. There's no commentary. There's no opinions on this. There's no left. There's no right. They just reported the news.
“And I've been watching them the last week, because they're giving us the news and given us more information — in my opinion — some of the positives are coming out. So, that was refreshing.”
Gundy also used the teleconference to support President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, call for coaches and staff members to begin returning to campus on May 1 and say players can “fight it off” in reference to COVID-19.
Gundy apologized for his comments in an emailed statement later that week. He has not spoken publicly since the teleconference.
OSU players began reporting to campus on June 1 for COVID-19 testing, two weeks ahead of scheduled voluntary workouts. Three players tested positive — including Ogbongbemiga, who said he also attended a protest of racial injustice the day before in Tulsa. Other players scheduled to report were told to stay home.
On Monday, the final wave of OSU players were scheduled to report for COVID-19 testing, according to reports.
But a revolt also started with the team’s unquestioned leader firing the first shot.
Last week, Hubbard ended a video shared on Twitter against racial injustice with strong words.
“It’s time to bring change,” Hubbard said. Too many people have been silent. Too many people have been brushing it off. Black lives do matter and we will bring change together, whether you are with us or not.”
Monday, he lived up to his own message
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Opinion: OSU football's Chuba Hubbard demands change. Mike Gundy vows it. Let's hope those aren't hollow words.
by
JENNI CARLSON
Published: Tue, June 16, 2020 1:04 AM Updated:
Tue, June 16, 2020 1:23 AM
Mike Gundy is the CEO of Cowboy football.
With that comes certain responsibilities — and responsibilities that never stop.
Not even when he goes to the lake with his sons.
That’s what the Oklahoma State coach did last week based on a photo snapped by a Lake Texoma striper fishing guide and posted on social media. The picture shows Gundy wearing a T-shirt with OAN across the front.
OAN stands for One America News, and according to Media Bias/Fact Check, the network is rated “questionable based on far-right bias, lack of sourcing, promotion of conspiracy theories and propaganda as well as numerous failed fact checks.
“OAN is not a credible news source.”
The network’s Wikipedia page calls it “pro-Trump.”
An OAN T-shirt isn’t a Make America Great Again hat, but these days, it carries certain connotations. It has weight. It has meanin
Within an hour of Hubbard’s tweet, there were statements of support from numerous other players, past and present. Included was a tweet from offensive lineman Teven Jenkins, the most experienced of that group saying, “As an O-line, we stand and support Chuba.”
Before the end of the afternoon, there were statements from
OSU president Burns Hargis and OSU athletic director Mike Holder. They voiced concerns about the issues being raised by the players.
Then before the sun had set, Hubbard posted another tweet,
this one a video with Hubbard standing beside Gundy. The coach said he’d met with players and discussed their concerns.
“I’ve been made aware of some things that the players feel like can make our organization, our culture even better than it is here at Oklahoma State,” Gundy said. “I’m looking forward to making some changes, and it starts at the top with me, and we’ve got good days ahead.”
Cowboys everywhere have to hope that’s true because things got serious in a hurry Monday afternoon when OSU’s most high-profile player in years publicly took its most successful coach to task.
Hubbard was a Heisman Trophy contender last year when he rushed for more than 2,000 yards, and when he decided to return for this season instead of jumping to the NFL, he gave Cowboy football a national superstarFans everywhere know Chuba.
Hubbard is beloved by his teammates, too. They appreciate his willingness to work hard and deflect praise. They saw how many times he carried the football last season, how he got banged up and how he never once complained about anything. That carries a ton of weight in the locker room.
Hubbard was among a handful of current players who lent their faces and voices to a video recently released calling for America to address issues of police brutality and systemic racism. Hubbard appeared along with fellow football players Landon Wolf, Dillon Stoner and Kolby Harvell-Peel. Also on the video were defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and offensive line coach Charlie Dickey as well as men’s basketball coach Mike Boynton.
But Hubbard was the closer.
“Black lives do matter,” he said in the final moments of the video, “and we will bring change together whether you’re with us or not.”
That video was released last Thursday.
Last Wednesday, Mike Gundy went to the lake wearing an OAN shirt. Again, he can wear what he wants, but as the CEO of Cowboy football, every single thing he does can carry consequences. An OAN anchor recently called Black Lives Matter “a criminal organization,” so if you wear a T-shirt for that network in the midst of coast-to-coast protests calling for Black lives to be treated with more dignity, you might get some blow back.
Gundy got so much of it his mullet was flapping in the wind.
The volume of swift and strong statements of support from Hubbard indicate there was more going on than what a head coach wore. That shirt seemed to be the last straw, and OSU players pounced.
Maybe what happened Monday afternoon will be the catalyst for change inside OSU football. You have to pray the players will never be made to feel less than. You have to hope Mike Gundy’s eyes were opened.
The CEO never has a day off, not even fishing at the lake.
