[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Mind of Mike is a scary place. So is the world we live in now where apologies and second chances don’t exist. Here’s my take on the Cale Gundy situation.
This is ridiculous. The forced resignation of Cale Gundy at Oklahoma is just unacceptable. I don’t know all the details but I’ve spoken to some sources and what has been reported is what happened. Gundy confiscated a player’s iPad and foolishly read aloud what the player was writing – which included a very insensitive and racial slur. It’s dumb, it’s unacceptable and the second he saw what was written he should have stopped. But he didn’t, this incident was bumped to the administration of higher education at Oklahoma and just like that he had a choice — be fired or resign. What a joke.
Now let’s be clear. There is no way to get past how stupid this was on Gundy’s part. And there is no excusing the use of any racially insensitive term, whether spoken or read aloud. But where do we draw the line between discipline and ruination? Oklahoma is the same school that allowed Joe Mixon (who is actively supporting Gundy) to return to the field after he punched a female in a video that went viral. So we forgive that in a sense (of course, he missed a season which falls under discipline) and not this? And the players speaking out on his behalf tells me that this wasn’t the culmination of previous incidents.
I’m not a Cale Gundy fan or apologist, I don’t know him and only know what players and others have told me about him, but where is the consistency? In 2013, Morgan Scalley texted a racial slur himself (not forwarded or re-read, he typed it himself) and was suspended. This all came out in 2020, and an investigation found a few other incidents as well. He’s currently the defensive coordinator at Utah. And from all accounts, Gundy is a better dude. This isn’t anything against Scalley but you see my point. More coaches vouch for Gundy to me than they did Scalley.
This cancel culture crap is ridiculous. I don’t condone what Gundy did at all, but for OU to force him to resign is just another example of the fear invoked by the social media outrage addicts, and someone needs to stand up and say “this was a mistake but his players and fellow coaches vouch for him and it appears to be an error in judgement in the heat of the moment. We will not ruin this man because of it.” Where’s that sentiment?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
