Cale Gundy, a longtime assistant football coach at the University of Oklahoma, has resigned after reading a “hurtful” word that a player wrote on his iPad. Gundy reportedly read what the student/player was typing to the whole class after he wasn’t paying attention during the meeting.
“I owe it to Sooner Nation to be transparent about what led to this decision: Last week, during a film session, I instructed my players to take notes,” Gundy wrote in a statement. “I noticed a player was distracted and picked up his iPad and read aloud the words that were written on his screen. The words displayed had nothing to do with football. One particular word that I should never — under any circumstance — have uttered was displayed on that screen. In the moment, I did not even realize what I was reading and, as soon as I did, I was horrified.”
Sooner Nation, thank you. pic.twitter.com/BYBOjObGna
— Cale Gundy (@calegundy) August 8, 2022
Gundy — whose brother is the head coach at archrival Oklahoma State — stressed that the words were not his. “I want to be very clear: the words I read aloud from that screen were not my words. What I said was not malicious; it wasn’t even intentional. Still, I am mature enough to know that the word I said was shameful and hurtful, no matter my intentions.”
It remains unclear what Gundy actually said, though it is likely that he used “the n-word.”
Former Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon — who currently plays for the Cincinnati Bengals — implied as much and defended Gundy. I know racists, I have witnessed both obvious and discreet forms of racism and have known and detested even more actual racist[s],” Mixon’s statement read. “Coach Gundy is the farthest thing from this type of person. I spent every day for the 1,000 days I was in Norman with him, and I never saw anything that would lead anyone to believe this or think this.”
Sooner Nation This Ain’t Right‼️ @OU_Football pic.twitter.com/2WoKGrxcXX
— ⚡️Primetime!!!⚡️ (@Joe_MainMixon) August 8, 2022
Cale Gundy’s brother, Mike, once found himself at the center of a controversy after former OSU standout Chuba Hubbard took issue with him wearing a One America News shirt. Mike Gundy soon issued an apology, saying he was “appalled” when he learned what the network “stood for.”
“I’m not a politician; I don’t know anything about that – but I stand for what’s right, and I felt what he did wasn’t right,” Hubbard, who now plays for the Carolina Panthers in the NFL, said at the time.
"Once I learned how that network [OAN] felt about Black Lives Matter, I was disgusted and knew it was completely unacceptable to me."
Mike Gundy apologized to Oklahoma State players and their families for wearing an OAN shirt. (via @CoachGundy)pic.twitter.com/TrwB19P1iQ
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) June 16, 2020
