“Our internal evaluation found that Coach Gundy needs to invest more time in structure stronger relationships with his student-athletes.” After fulfilling with Coach Gundy, I am confident that he listened to his student-athletes. Gundy for years has actually often referred to gamers in public forums by their jersey numbers. Even Mason Rudolph, who made more than 40 starts over four seasons in Stillwater, stated in 2017 that he didnt have much of a relationship with Gundy up until his junior year.
” There have actually been a lot of teachable minutes for me here recently,” Gundy informed Yahoo Sports after being asked about his lack of relationships with his players.
Most of the team openly supported Hubbard after he took his position, and it created a dialogue within the program as staffers relocated to impact change. Gundy has actually publicly apologized on a number of occasions and called himself a “dumbass” for using the t-shirt.
Gundy for years has actually frequently referred to players in public online forums by their jersey numbers. Even Mason Rudolph, who made more than 40 starts over four seasons in Stillwater, stated in 2017 that he didnt have much of a relationship with Gundy until his junior year.
” There have actually been a great deal of teachable moments for me here recently,” Gundy informed Yahoo Sports after being inquired about his lack of relationships with his players. “When the players stated they felt I was disconnected, it broke my heart. Hearing that led me to take a look at myself and acknowledge that its probably true. Ive invested a lot of time listening and discovering recently, and now I feel much better about moving forward in developing deeper relationships with my gamers. Thats what they told me they wanted whichs now a leading concern for me.”
Its quite rare for a university president and an athletic director to publicly push a head coach in a certain direction, specifically a course as apparently simple as developing more relationships with gamers. But this need to end what was otherwise a troubled month in Stillwater as Oklahoma State preps for a 2020 season in which, on paper, it has one of its best groups in almost a years– and the firepower to possibly get Gundy his 2nd Big 12 title.
” This problem is fixable,” Hargis said. “After satisfying with both Mike Holder and Mike Gundy, I think they are committed to taking actions to reinforce the relationships, which will enhance communications and the program.”
The evaluation came at a cost, though– Oklahoma State paid a public relations tax, and Gundys checking account took a hit. Gundys five-year rollover agreement was shortened to a four-year rollover, his buyout was decreased, and he likewise received a $1 million pay cut, which Holder said in a teleconference Friday was Gundys idea.
The investigation was performed by Oklahoma State after numerous players– consisting of All-American running back Chuba Hubbard– threatened to boycott the program after a picture of Gundy last month surfaced revealing him wearing a One America News Network T-shirt during a fishing expedition. OAN, a reactionary cable channel, has been publicly crucial of the Black Lives Matter movement.
After a weeks-long internal evaluation of the Oklahoma State football program and coach Mike Gundy, the guy who has actually been at the helm of it because 2005, athletic director Mike Holder and university president Burns Hargis are waiting their male. The 2 revealed on Thursday that they are backing Gundy in spite of weeks of unrest and unpredictability surrounding the program.
” We have invested the previous number of weeks reviewing our program and talking with current and former gamers,” Holder said. “Our internal review found that Coach Gundy needs to invest more time in building stronger relationships with his student-athletes. Our review has actually discovered no signs or indicator of bigotry.
” After consulting with Coach Gundy, I am confident that he listened to his student-athletes. I think he is real in his dedication to enhancing relationships with his gamers. I think this to be a win for everyone. Im eagerly anticipating seeing the impact this will have on our team.”
Hargis echoed Holder in a similar statement, stating in a post on Twitter that the investigation– led by Holder and OSUs deputy AD Chad Weiberg– figured out that the “underlying concern was an absence of individual relationships in between the head coach and gamers instead of anything racial.”
