Originally published at: https://pistolsfiringblog.com/picture-painted-in-stillwater-not-one-of-abuse-but-distance-and-unavailability/
A closer look at what’s going on at Oklahoma State.
It’s such a strange time in Stillwater. One coach is in trouble for having no relationship with his athletes. Another looks like he’s going to hang on to almost everyone despite facing a post season ban because his relationships are so strong.
I think it’s a positive sign no one has entered the transfer portal and no one has decommited.
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Should give Boynton half of Gundy’s salary to recruit for him.
I know that things are much different between football and basketball, but it seems like it’s fair to expect Gundy to have a relationship with his Heisman candidate that’s on par with Boyton’s with a bunch of guys who haven’t been on campus.
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This context greatly smooths the seas. The last few days I insinuated it was obviously about more than just the shirt, but was only half-right. Yes we’re got racial tensions over issues not yet resolved, however it’s not as bad as assumed. It’s great to have reporting like this to add color to the situation, or maybe grey, considering it sounds like Gundy is more numb to it all than we’ve thought (at least numb to things other than recruiting stars, amirite?).
This has definitely been an extension of real-life and it’s a shame we’re having a verbal tug-o-war with the shirt in place of a rope. I do hope everyone can come together and foster better conversations regarding race and football. Honestly, I’m as tired of hearing about recruiting stars not mattering as I am some of these takes on the shirt.
Thanks Kyles!
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It’s not so hard to ask they have atleast a similar number of relationships - so for HCMG, that’s half the offense? Maybe the first team O and special teams?
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Yeah, I would definitely think the team leaders on both sides of the ball.
Like I get it if he doesn’t ever talk to Tom Hutton, but Chuba and Amen he should be reaching out to all the time.
So Gundy appearing to be disconnected as a coach during games sometimes (like not talking to the players when the chips are down) seems to be more than just that. When you don’t connect outside of games, it is hard for you to try to speak to players during the games to lift them up or anything else. I was at the Tulsa game in Stillwater In 2017. Great seats behind the bench… what I could not believe was how Gundy stood away from the bench and the team when TCU was pulling away with a lead. He was not talking to the team. He just stood expressionless on his own with his headset on. He appeared to change a bit in the last couple of years at least from what I saw on TV. But the bigger deal is being distant can certainly cause huge perception issues for a leader. That is normal in any work place as well. You have to connect to your team … in a 200 people organisation, he should be at least connecting with the leaders in the team.
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This was a great write up of the actual situation. Mike should definitely be more mindful of the social matter surrounding the kids he is coaching. It’s his job to lead them and that is an impossible task if he doesn’t understand them or their concerns. To the fans (some of which on this site) who have spouted the most disgusting rhetoric towards the team they supposedly support: You disgust me, plain and simple. I am here to support the kids who represent my Alma Mater, not a coach who makes more money than i will ever see. Yes he facilitates their success but i will 100% side with the kids every time. I’ve seen a lot of comments about how Gundy has the right to free speech. That is very true, but the players and everyone else have the equal right to voice their concerns as well. The team above all has the freedom of speech to condemn him for repping a blatantly racist conspiracy slinging rag like OANN. The signature of a scientific mind is the ability to take in new information and change your opinions based on newly discovered facts. Gundy, in his millionare white man bubble may have looked at OAN and not realize what it really is. However, i’m glad he has publicly admitted his mistakes after being presented with the perspectives of the kids he is supposed to protect above all else. I hope this incident does widen Mike’s relationships with the team and hopefully it pulls the team closer together. A more engaged gundy can only benefit the team in a year that we have a real chance to be great.
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I’m asking that all these coaches statues and National Championships be removed. And any stadium names be removed as well.
- Adolph Rupp - Kentucky basketball coach that wouldn’t allow black player to play for a long time.
- Bear Bryant - .wouldn’t allow black players to play in Texas A&M and Alabama for many years
- Darrell royal (Texas) - wouldn’t allow black players to play for Texas while Barry was recruiting the whole time…
If we can go back into the past and pull everyone’s sins…then why not these former coaches.
I’ve been telling friends since the shirt controversy dropped that Gundy is “intentionally ignorant.” To me, he’s obviously intelligent, a good leader, and very personable. He just decides to ignore politically correct “social issues” because, frankly, he hasn’t had to care. Being more woke hasn’t aided him be a better “X’s and O’s” coach or “CEO”, and it potentially might have eroded his status and reputation as a devil-may-care folk hero–giving Zero Effs is part of his allure. It would have been shocking [to me] if he hadn’t apologized and/or somehow tried to make amends with Hubbard, et. al. But the idea that these problems were caused by Gundy being “distant” is mind-blowing; his image portrays he would be highly involved in the locker room and warm the halls of BPS. So I’m glad it’s an issue that will not only improve the racial harmony of the program, but also one that can help the entire program better reflect the warmth and family atmosphere that makes OSU special.
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Very well said T-Bone. In fact it’s outstanding. Regarding the comment in the article about fans negative comments toward Chuba. All that I can say is if Chuba has the right to say things then so does everyone else. It’s called free speech and there is no rule that says it has to match your view point or not sound hurtful.
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To be fair, you can go right now and click on any one of Chuba or Gundy’s posts the past few days and the overwhelming majority of negative posts are coming from non-OSU fans. Yes, there are some OSU fans out there who are pouting too, but most of them are not OSU fans. I even saw an OSU player specifically (won’t say which one) retweet a negative tweet from some “fan” and added “this is why the culture at Oklahoma state needs to change”. I clicked on the person’s profile and they were from South Carolina, and were huge Clemson fans. I hope the team isn’t seeing negative comments from outsiders and blindly assuming their own fans are against them.
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100% agree. Very well thought out.
Conservatives got behind a candidate the courted racists for votes in Trump. If Nixon drove the party off a cliff with Watergate the cliff Trump is head for his much higher. GOP should have let Hillary go against a candidate that wouldn’t destroy the party. OAN is courting the same racist crowd as Trump which is why he prefers it over Fox.
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The article discusses Gundy being either an idiot or having a blatant disregard for social matters, and having issues of power, distance, and isolation.
These are very good reasons for not calling him the best coach in school history. Call him the “winningest”, but “best” just doesn’t sound right.
That wouldn’t be equality tho?
Bravo! Right on!
“Gundy is either an idiot or has a blatant disregard for the state of social matters.”
I don’t think he’s an idiot or blatant to it. I think his main concern is focusing on what his job is (Coaching and Recruiting) and spending whatever time he has with his family.
The state of social matters didn’t become a concern until Chuba decided to make it a concern. He’s probably not racist or out to help oppress anyone.
These younger guys need to realize he isn’t 21 years old. He’s a 52 year old man trying to do a job and spend time with his family like most normal and rational people. He’s not a mind reader and shouldn’t be expected to understand every problem every player on his roster has without prior knowledge.
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This is why you and BLM are full of it. You start from the perspective that what you believe is absolute righteous truth, and anyone who disagrees is “RACIST” and immoral. You want to be the “thought police.” We’re not having it.
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