As Oklahoma State completed their season collapse with a loss in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl Tuesday night, head coach Mike Gundy snapped at a reporter for asking an innocuous question.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys followed their 12-2 campaign from last year by beginning the 2022 season with a 6-1 start. Tuesday night’s 24-17 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, however, completed their second half spiral to finish the season 7-6.
In the aftermath of their stark collapse, one reporter asked Oklahoma State’s head coach Mike Gundy about the potential need to make staff changes. Clearly annoyed, Gundy bypassed any traditional coachspeak to berate the reporter for asking a fair question.
The ending of Mike Gundy’s press conference got extra frosty when he was asked about the potential of making any staff changes.
| #okstate | @ocollysports | pic.twitter.com/O6BRG6mO9L— Ben Hutchens (@Ben_Hutchens_) December 28, 2022
“Do you think I would tell you if I was making staff changes?” Gundy asked the reporter.
After the reporter said he was just trying to do his job, Gundy became even more agitated, threatening to cut his access for asking the question.
“Well, I might have to cut you out, I mean, don’t be an ass,” Gundy said. “Really? Those are people’s lives man, it’s people’s families, right? OK. Don’t mess with people’s families. Let’s do this the right way. You with me on this? It’s not fair to people’s families, man. I’m not mad about the game, I just don’t like ignorance.”
Gundy’s team failed to meet expectations after last season’s 12-2 performance and they collapsed down the stretch by losing five of their last six games. The defense gave up 18 points per game in 2021 and 29 points per game in 2022. Sounds like a team that might need to consider some changes.
Obviously, Gundy wasn’t going to run down a list of coaches he’s going to fire during a postgame press conference. But the reporter wasn’t screaming for coaches to get fired and families to be uprooted the way fans do, he asked a respectful and legitimate question considering Oklahoma State’s recent downward trend. Gundy could have easily avoided what morphed into a viral moment by saying everything will be assessed in the coming weeks, but instead, he bullied the reporter, failing to display the same respect he sought for his staff.
