Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy made matters even worse Tuesday when he justified his decision not to punish running back Ollie Gordon II for being arrested and charged with drunk driving.
Gundy made an effort to explain why he decided to allow Gordon to play despite being arrested on June 30 in Tulsa, but, with his explanation, Gundy seemed to be dismissing drunk driving as no big deal.
According to sources, Gordon blew a 0.10 BAC, which is over the 0.08 legal limit in Oklahoma. Police also reported finding an open bottle containing alcohol in his car.
Despite all that, Gordon was allowed to play in the next game after his arrest.
To explain himself, Gundy claimed during the ESPN broadcast of his comments that he decided that Gordon’s arrest was not severe enough to warrant team punishment, and the reason he felt that way was shocking.
“So, I looked it up on my phone, ‘What would be the legal limit?'”Gundy said during his press conference. “Like, in Oklahoma, it’s 0.08 [percent]. And Ollie was 0.1 [percent]. So, I looked it up, and it was based on body weight.”
He continued:
Not to get into the legal side of it, but I thought, “Really, two or three beers or four.” I’m not justifying what Ollie did; I’m telling you what decision I made. Well, I thought, “I’ve probably done that a thousand times in my life, and, you know, it was just fine.” So, I got lucky. People get lucky. Ollie made a decision that he wished he could have done better, but, when I talked to Ollie, I told him, “You’re lucky; you got out light.”
Here's Mike Gundy's entire answer on Ollie Gordon not getting suspended. Not sure "I've probably done that a thousand time in my life. And, and, you know which is fine. I got lucky, people get lucky" was the way to go pic.twitter.com/zVig6u7p7V
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) July 9, 2024
Gundy also said that he feels Gordon was sufficiently apologetic:
I’ve been with Ollie a considerable number of times and listened to him. He was remorseful and knew how serious it could have been. That allowed me to make a decision. I have to make a decision, and there’s a lot of people involved in this decision, not just him. I wanted it to be over with today, other than what he has to deal with from a legal standpoint. But for our team and me, it’s over today, and we try to regroup heading forward.
These comments veered dangerously close to making it seem as if Gundy was dismissing drunk driving as inconsequential or perhaps equating getting caught to a meaningless game of chance.
Unsurprisingly, the criticism came in quickly, and the backlash sent Gundy to his X account to try and clarify his statement.
“My intended point today at Big 12 media days was that we are all guilty of making bad decisions,” Gundy wrote on Tuesday. “It was not a reference to something specific.”
My intended point today at Big 12 media days was that we are all guilty of making bad decisions. It was not a reference to something specific.
— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) July 9, 2024
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