Oklahoma football program has major shakeup as coach Cale Gundy steps down
Longtime assistant coach Cale Gundy said he’s stepping down after apparently reading a racially charged word off a player’s iPad several times.
Longtime assistant coach Cale Gundy said he’s stepping down after apparently reading a racially charged word off a player’s iPad several times.
Longtime assistant coach Cale Gundy said he’s stepping down after apparently reading a racially charged word off a player’s iPad several times.
The University of Oklahoma football program has a major shakeup as former assistant coach Cale Gundy steps down.
Longtime assistant coach Cale Gundy said he’s stepping down after apparently reading a racially charged word off a player’s iPad several times. It all happened during a film session last week.
A player was distracted and when Gundy called the player out, he read out what was on his iPad, which apparently had nothing to do with football.
| MORE | Oklahoma assistant football coach Cale Gundy resigns
Gundy had said he uttered the word but the team’s head coach said Gundy repeated it several times. Gundy, who had been with the program for more than 20 years, made the announcement on Sunday night via Twitter, writing that what he said wasn’t malicious and that it wasn’t even intentional.
Despite that, however, he felt the need to resign.
"This team…[does] not deserve to be distracted by off-the-field matters while working to continue the tradition of excellence that makes me so proud to be a Sooner. I won’t do the program I love the disservice of distracting from this mission. Effective immediately, I am stepping down," Gundy said in his announcement on Twitter.
Head Coach Brent Venables released two statements following Gundy’s announcement. One thanked Gundy for his commitment.
"…in stepping aside he's placed the program and the welfare of our student-athletes first. In coaching and in life, we’re all accountable for our actions and the resulting outcomes," Venables said in his first statement.
However, a second statement seemed to contradict Gundy’s resignation letter.
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Venables wrote in a statement on Monday that Gundy, "Chose to read, aloud to his players, not once but multiple times, a racially charged word that is objectionable to everyone and does not reflect the attitude and values of our university or our football program. This is not acceptable. Period."
Venables said Gundy resigning was the right thing to do.
Many former players, including black players, have posted online, voicing their support for Gundy. However, the vast majority of that online support was posted before the newest statement from Venables.