Mike Gundy provides questionable reason for not banning Ollie Gordon II

Mike Gundy came to Big 12 Media Days fully prepared to defend his decision not to suspend star running back Ollie Gordon II. The reasoning the Oklahoma State coach offered was questionable at best and incredibly cynical at worst.

Gordon was arrested on June 30 on suspicion of driving under the influence. His blood alcohol level was .10, over the legal limit of .08. Gundy decided Gordon would not miss any playing time and even brought him to Big 12 media days as a team representative. He spoke about that decision on Tuesday and things got a little weird.

Gundy’s answer to the question can be found below.

In the key part, Gundy said, “So, I looked on my phone to see what the legal limit is. For example, in Oklahoma, it’s .08 and Ollie is .1. So I looked it up and it was based on body weight… but I thought, actually, two or three beers or four… so, I thought, I’ve probably done this 1,000 times in my life. Which is fine. So, I got lucky. People get lucky.”

I’m not sure that claiming you didn’t penalize a player for drunk driving because you’ve done the same thing “1,000 times” in your life was the right approach here.

I think we all understand that Gundy is saying Gordon made a mistake that many have made and should be forgiven if he takes responsibility for it. But the path he took to justify the decision not to suspend him was a wild ride.

Gundy must have sensed that his statement was not well received, so he tweeted the following: “My actual statement today at Big 12 Media Days was that we are all guilty of making bad decisions. It was not an indication of anything specific.”

Gordon was the 2023 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and was named an All-American after rushing for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns on 285 carries. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry and added 330 yards receiving and another touchdown through the air.

He will have a chance to improve those numbers in 2024 since Gundy chose not to suspend him.