Cale Gundy, an Oklahoma player and the longest-tenured football coach in the Big 12, resigned Sunday night, saying he read aloud “a word that I should never — under any circumstances — have said” outside screen. of a player’s iPad during a film session last week.
He said he noticed a player, who was supposed to be taking notes during a film session, was distracted and said he picked up the player’s iPad and read the words on the screen, including the undefined term.
“The unfortunate reality is that someone in my position can cause harm without ever thinking about it,” Gundy wrote in a statement posted on his Twitter account. “In that circumstance, a man of character accepts responsibility. I take responsibility for this mistake. I apologize.”
Gundy said at the time he “didn’t even understand” what he was reading and, once he did, “I was terrified.”
“I want to be very clear: the words I read aloud from that screen were not my words. What I said was not malicious, nor was it intentional,” Gundy wrote. “However, I am mature enough to know that the word I said was embarrassing and hurtful, regardless of my intentions.”
Gundy, 50, the younger brother of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, played quarterback for the Sooners from 1990 to 1993, setting nearly every school record by the time he graduated. He then returned as part of Bob Stoops’ first staff in 1999 and was a part of all of Oklahoma’s 14 Big 12 titles and its 2000 national championship. He spent 16 years as the defensive backs coach, followed by seven other inside receivers coaches and was OU’s assistant coach.
First-year Sooners coach Brent Venables, who served as an assistant with Gundy from 1999 to 2011 in Norman, issued a corresponding statement Sunday night.
“It is with sadness that I accept the resignation of Coach Gundy. He has dedicated more than half of his life to Oklahoma football and has served the program and our university well,” Venables said. “We are grateful for this commitment. We also recognize that in stepping aside he has put the program and the well-being of our athletes first. In training and in life, we are all responsible for our actions and the results that result.”
Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon, who was coached by Gundy at Oklahoma, posted a letter on Twitter saying in part, “If not for Coach Gundy, I would not have attended OU, would have survived at OU, had I stayed at OU and would have been successful in life. after OU. I owe my education and professional career to him and most importantly I owe who I am as a person to him. Most importantly Coach Gundy is not, and I repeat not is racist in any way and does not have a racist bone in it body, mind or soul… I know racists, I have witnessed both overt and subtle types of racism and I have known and hate even more real racists [sic]. Coach Gundy is the furthest thing from that type of person.”
Faster Nation This is not fair‼️ @OU_Football pic.twitter.com/2WoKGrxcXX
— ⚡️Primetime!!!⚡️ (@Joe_MainMixon) August 8, 2022
Gundy noted in his statement that he didn’t want to be a distraction.
“I understand this is a critical time for Oklahoma football,” Gundy wrote. “This team — its coaches, players, administration and fans — do not deserve to be distracted by off-field issues as they work to continue the tradition of excellence that makes me so proud to be the fastest.
“Obviously, I leave these parts with a heavy heart. Coaching this football team has truly been my life’s passion.”
Venables said L’Damian Washington, an offensive analyst, will replace Gundy on an interim basis.
