Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy caused a stir on social media when he addressed the recent DUI arrest of star player Ollie Gordon II.
During the Big 12 press conference, Gundy shared why he will not suspend the 2023 Conference Player of the Year following the incident.
Additionally, Gundy said he researched legal alcohol consumption limits in Oklahoma and admitted he may have driven with illegal levels of alcohol in his system on several occasions.
“I thought, really, two or three beers, or four… I’m not justifying what Ollie did, I’m telling you the decision I made… well, I thought I’ve probably done that a thousand times in my life,” Gundy said.
“I was lucky. People are lucky. Ollie made a decision that he wished he had made better.”
OSU coach Mike Gundy sparked fury for defending his star player after a DUI arrest
Big 12 Conference Player of the Year Ollie Gordon will not face a suspension following his arrest
On July 2, the Cowboys running back was pulled over after his black 2024 Cadillac was spotted swerving and speeding on a local highway. During the arrest, officers claimed to have smelled “an odor associated with an alcoholic beverage” coming from the vehicle.
After searching his car, police reported seeing a half-full bottle of vodka and lemonade and a half-full bottle of tequila. Gordon also reportedly told police he had one drink. However, alcohol samples came back with results of 0.11 and 0.10, both above the state limit of 0.08.
Saying his player is “a great person who made a mistake,” Gundy decided not to suspend the running back, insisting that a one-game suspension would do nothing for Gordon or the team.
On July 2, Gordon was pulled over after his 2024 Cadillac was seen swerving and speeding.
Gordon’s samples came back with results of .10 and .11, both just above Oklahoma’s legal limit of .08.
In a video of his response, users referred to his response as horrible and pathetic. Meanwhile, another user wrote: “How about we use this as a teaching moment? I’ve probably done this a thousand times??? Dude, this is not good.”
Despite refusing to take disciplinary action, Gundy acknowledged the dangers Gordon’s actions could have caused. The coach also stressed that Gordon was “lucky” nothing tragic happened on the road.
“Nobody got hurt. We see people doing this and people losing their lives all over the country. Not just football players, but everyone, so you were lucky.”
Gundy also highlighted how Gordon showed up to media day so he could confront the masses about the situation.
Gordon insisted on attending the media day to take responsibility for his irresponsible actions.
Gundy said Gordon is a “great person who made a mistake” and “is lucky no one was hurt.”
“We can say that these guys are not employees, but in reality they are employees, these guys get paid a lot of money,” he said.
“That’s fine, but what they do has to have a positive side: they have to be able to – for lack of a better term – face the music and take responsibility for things.”
After insisting on attending media events, Gordon apologized for his arrest and said he will learn and grow from his mistakes.