OSU Coach Mike Gundy Bashes OK Newspaper Columnist

[Marauder]

It seems that only Sooner fans are saying this...

Yeah, what he said. At least Alabama Sooner was considerate, though.

 

[bamamoss2]

Gundy is way out of line to address this in the public in the manner he did.

A nice closed dooor session would have been appropriate.

As for the QB; another primadonna underperforming and in the spotlight; ala Clausen at ND.

 

[wishbonesooner]

I'm not so sure the reporter didn't write what she did to draw Gundy out about his handling of OSU's QB situtation. Many of you aren't fully grasping just what has happened here. Mike Gundy said that no player loses his starting job due to an injury. But that's just exactly what happened. Or did it? He at first said Reid was pulled from the Fla. Atlantic game because of an injury. But no injury was ever explained. Bobby Reid was to be Gundy's Vince Young. He made Reid the starter over a QB that had taken them to the Cotton Bowl, and Reid promptly took them to a 4-7 season. Gundy was trapped into playing a kid that was such a prized recruit, he couldn't bench him. It seems as though he had finally decided that he had to do something to salvage the season. A season when he and his whole athletic dept. had run their mouths about for months. Did you guys see the label they gave themselves, "The World's Most Explosive Offense"? But did he have the stones to say so publicly? No, he just said Robinson was the starter and would be for the forseeable future. Hey, I dislike yellow journalism as much as anybody, but Gundy had seen many, many columns about his team, not many were flattering. But he chose a woman to attack. No doubt in my mind that if that article had been written by a male journalist, he wouldn't have had the guts to attack him in similar fashion. You can praise this guy if you want, but if you know the whole story, it looks a lot different.
One more thing, Gundy was confronted by Jenni Carlson at his Monday News conference. She asked him specifically what parts of her column were inaccurate, to his face. Gundy replied " I don't have to answer that". Yeah, a real stand up guy that Gundy.

 

[roll2tide]

A season when he and his whole athletic dept. had run their mouths about for months. Did you guys see the label they gave themselves, "The World's Most Explosive Offense"? But did he have the stones to say so publicly? No, he just said Robinson was the starter and would be for the forseeable future. Hey, I dislike yellow journalism as much as anybody, but Gundy had seen many, many columns about his team, not many were flattering. But he chose a woman to attack. No doubt in my mind that if that article had been written by a male journalist, he wouldn't have had the guts to attack him in similar fashion. You can praise this guy if you want, but if you know the whole story, it looks a lot different.
One more thing, Gundy was confronted by Jenni Carlson at his Monday News conference. She asked him specifically what parts of her column were inaccurate, to his face. Gundy replied " I don't have to answer that". Yeah, a real stand up guy that Gundy.

Yep, and the media are herding sheep all across the nation on this one. On the surface Gundy looks like a great guy, but if your close enough to see a little deeper you start to see what kind of guy he really is.

 

[lafella]

I'm far removed form the situation that's for sure and I'm outside looking in, so maybe that is whats really going on. Could just be nuetral but I still like to see a coach (grand standing or not) stick up for his players, the whole MM situation was different that was coaches and a program throwing a kid under the bus.

It definitely wasn't as one sided on this board as some think.

 

[JessN]

There's no doubt she will most likely be fired

Actually, I doubt she will be. As of today, OSU/Gundy still had not called the editor of the paper to lodge any kind of official complaint, which in most cases is done when a reporter or columnist gets something egregiously wrong.

The question needs to be asked whether the facts of the column are true or not. If they're not, the reporter is at fault. If they're true, Gundy has no expectation for anyone to ignore facts, even when writing a scathing opinion.

People don't like the press when they're opinionated, but that's a columnist's job. It's my job to be opinionated in certain articles that are published here on TideFans. Most of you guys like what I write. When I write something that's critical of Auburn or Tennessee, I get a bunch of "attaboy" emails. It's all about the content, I guess.

The public often has the wrong, or at least an incomplete idea of what the roles of the press are and what the roles within a newspaper are. A columnist's job is to incite reaction, positive and negative.

As for Gundy's conduct, he did what most coaches have wanted to do at one time or another, but have wisely decided not to do. The repercussions from his actions will go a little something like this:

* The paper he criticized will now get twice as much up in his business, and his program's business, than before.

* He will now be scrutinized twice as closely regarding moves made at the QB position. As wishbonesooner alludes to, now he'll have to specify why this guy lost the job to begin with, and he won't be allowed any wiggle room because of his earlier statements about injuries and losing jobs.

* He has apparently kowtowed to the whims of a player's mother, and in doing so has opened himself up to this thing in the future, which will be divisive to team unity if it isn't already.

* He has gotten the last break he'll ever get from the media when it comes time to evaluate his career.

Like Finebaum or not, he and those like him move opinions and cause people to apply heat to decision makers. This is not a new happening in journalism. Go back and read newspapers dating well back into the last century and you'll see what I mean. I can remember a newspaper I worked for in the past that had old copies framed and hanging in the front lobby, and you won't believe how blurry the lines were between fact and opinion.

What Gundy did, he is allowed by law to do, but as a public figure, if you can't take heat from the press then you need to find something else to do. A newspaper that has no opinion is not a newspaper. It may make people uncomfortable when someone deigns to challenge or expose rough spots, but that comes with the territory.

There's a saying: Never pick a fight with a man who buys ink by the barrel. The press is far more powerful than a lot of people (especially fans) want to believe, and Gundy is about to find that out.

 

[Stephen323]

What Gundy did, he is allowed by law to do, but as a public figure, if you can't take heat from the press then you need to find something else to do.

But he's not complaining about getting heat. In fact, he very clearly told the press to go after him if they are going to go after someone. He was complaining about the treatment of his player, not himself.

 

[JessN]

But he's not complaining about getting heat. In fact, he very clearly told the press to go after him if they are going to go after someone. He was complaining about the treatment of his player, not himself.

He's complaining about the "treatment" of his player because it exposes his own decisions in handling the situation regarding who starts and who doesn't.

There may also be some things going on behind the scenes that he doesn't want out there. My radar is going off big-time over the degree to which this mother is involved with her kid's life and just how close to the program she may be. There's something there, and the coaches obviously don't want that kind of attention on it.

 

[Stephen323]

He's complaining about the "treatment" of his player because it exposes his own decisions in handling the situation regarding who starts and who doesn't.

Well, that would be another opinion. Again, if she wants to state an opinion then she should state an opinion instead of asserting rumors as facts. Even if what you say is true, it was very poorly handled by the writer. She can question the coach's decisions without bringing rumors about the players into it.

 

[JessN]

Well, that would be another opinion. Again, if she wants to state an opinion then she should state an opinion instead of asserting rumors as facts. Even if what you say is true, it was very poorly handled by the writer. She can question the coach's decisions without bringing rumors about the players into it.

I have a feeling she had more than a passing knowledge of this situation before she wrote about it. I would bet she could prove everything she wrote if forced to, and the way her editor has responded makes me even more sure of it. Most editors at publications that large are in that position because they have a very good grasp of libel laws and don't let outright falsehoods go out. That's just my take on it from 1,000 miles away, but judging from the paper's conduct I think Gundy doth protests too much because she was hitting really close to the heartwood if not directly on it.

 

[Crimson Speed]

Obviously, the article struck some sore spots with Gundy. I can understand that he did not appreciate all of the negative exposure, whether it was factual or not. But, he sure drew a line in the sand with the media and it will take some time to repair that damage. His best option would have been to call a private meeting with her and possibly the editor and attempt to work out their differences.
Man, dirty laundry can stink.

 

[Tide & Titans]

Regardless of who is the real culprit in this situation, Coach Gundy absolutely laid it on the media member in question and I love it. If these writers feel the need to criticize defenseless amateur atheletes, they better be handle the same thing in return.

 

[dave12]

it's about time a coach stood up to the media and let them have it with both barrells. Way to go Coach gundy. You are the man.I just wish more coaches would do the sane thing.
I may become a coyboy fa:smile:n after this. Again, way to go.

RTR

 

[wishbonesooner]

Do any of you know that Les Miles was not allowed to hire his own OC when he was at OSU? Mike Gundy was forced on him, and they battled for the entire time Miles was at OSU. T Boone Pickens runs the athletic department at OSU. Gundy is Boone's guy. He's poured nearly 300 million dollars into that program, and Gundy is feeling the heat big time. I also like a coach that has his player's backs, but Gundy has caused all this stuff to happen. Carlson called him, and he doesn't like it. This deal isn't over, stay tuned. Look for Carlson to put her side of the story out today.

 

[37bamagreats55]

Actually, I doubt she will be. As of today, OSU/Gundy still had not called the editor of the paper to lodge any kind of official complaint, which in most cases is done when a reporter or columnist gets something egregiously wrong.

The question needs to be asked whether the facts of the column are true or not. If they're not, the reporter is at fault. If they're true, Gundy has no expectation for anyone to ignore facts, even when writing a scathing opinion.

People don't like the press when they're opinionated, but that's a columnist's job. It's my job to be opinionated in certain articles that are published here on TideFans. Most of you guys like what I write. When I write something that's critical of Auburn or Tennessee, I get a bunch of "attaboy" emails. It's all about the content, I guess.

The public often has the wrong, or at least an incomplete idea of what the roles of the press are and what the roles within a newspaper are. A columnist's job is to incite reaction, positive and negative.

As for Gundy's conduct, he did what most coaches have wanted to do at one time or another, but have wisely decided not to do. The repercussions from his actions will go a little something like this:

* The paper he criticized will now get twice as much up in his business, and his program's business, than before.

* He will now be scrutinized twice as closely regarding moves made at the QB position. As wishbonesooner alludes to, now he'll have to specify why this guy lost the job to begin with, and he won't be allowed any wiggle room because of his earlier statements about injuries and losing jobs.

* He has apparently kowtowed to the whims of a player's mother, and in doing so has opened himself up to this thing in the future, which will be divisive to team unity if it isn't already.

* He has gotten the last break he'll ever get from the media when it comes time to evaluate his career.

Like Finebaum or not, he and those like him move opinions and cause people to apply heat to decision makers. This is not a new happening in journalism. Go back and read newspapers dating well back into the last century and you'll see what I mean. I can remember a newspaper I worked for in the past that had old copies framed and hanging in the front lobby, and you won't believe how blurry the lines were between fact and opinion.

What Gundy did, he is allowed by law to do, but as a public figure, if you can't take heat from the press then you need to find something else to do. A newspaper that has no opinion is not a newspaper. It may make people uncomfortable when someone deigns to challenge or expose rough spots, but that comes with the territory.

There's a saying: Never pick a fight with a man who buys ink by the barrel. The press is far more powerful than a lot of people (especially fans) want to believe, and Gundy is about to find that out.

And the hammer meets the head of the nail

 

[RTR_NW]

"Freedom of Speech" now equals "Freedom from Responsible Reporting". Just because it's true doesn't mean it has to be printed. There's usually an underlying reason for a situation like this, but the "High Road" is the one less traveled.

Coach Gundy's message was good, just needs to work on his presentation a bit.

 

[Tide n True]

I just wanted to comment on this Jenni Carlson lady...she's disgusting. Not her writing, necessarily, but look at her...it's like Rosie and Pavarotti had a lovechild.

 

[StoneMtnDew]

I'm a man! I'm forty!

 

[dvldog]

I'm a man! I'm forty!

Ya but 45 is the cut off.

 

[rjtide]

people can bash the columnist all they want to. even say she's mean, ugly, whatever. the fact is she is a columnist and is perfectly within her rights to write what she did. there's no libel there...if there was a lawsuit would already have been filed. plus the player in question is a starting qb at a d-1 school in the big 12. true OK state and not OK but still a major d-1 program in a major conference. criticism comes with that kind of territory....coach gundy has to understand that and by acting basically like an overprotective parent thrust this story into the national limelight. which did more disservice to the football player than the original column. stuff like this is best left unstirred b/c it is irrelevant unless you try to make a big deal out of it like coach gundy did.