After his program endured turmoil the last 24 hours due to an image of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy wearing a One America News Network T-shirt at a lake outing last week, Gundy apologized on a 60-second video Tuesday to "all members of our team, former players, and their families, for the pain and discomfort that has been caused over the last two days."
"Black lives matter to me," Gundy said. "Our players matter to me. I sincerely hope the Oklahoma State family near and far, will accept my humble apology as we move forward."
OAN is considered a far-right leaning cable channel seen as heavily pro-Donald Trump, but Gundy has now distanced himself from OAN due to its stance on the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Once I learned how that network felt about Black Lives Matter, I was disgusted and knew it was completely unacceptable to me," Gundy said, noting he met with his team earlier Tuesday and received feedback from players on the topic.
— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) June 16, 2020
The initial blowback to Gundy's shirt was furious and immediate on Monday by players within the program. Chuba Hubbard responded by saying he would "not stand" for it, and that he would "not be doing anything with Oklahoma State until things CHANGE." Other OSU athletes -- including fellow Canadian Amen Ogbongbemiga, the entire offensive line, and All-Big 12 safety Kolby Harvell-Peel, stood by his side on social media.
Monday evening, OSU president Burns Hargis and athletic director Mike Holder issued separate statements on the matter. Holder called the afternoon "very disturbing," adding that other tweets alleging mistreatment that surfaced Monday were of "grave concern." Hargis said OSU "will not tolerative insensitive behavior" by anyone at Oklahoma State and called for unity. On Monday evening, Hubbard and Gundy appeared in a video on social media, but it was Hubbard -- not Gundy -- who issued an apology.
Hubbard commented on that dynamic Monday night by saying that despite the video, "It's not over."
"No don't get it twisted," he said. "Foots still on the gas. Results are coming." He responded to Mike Gundy's apology Tuesday evening, saying it is, "A step in the right direction."
