Mike Gundy wants us to know he has not driven drunk a thousand times.
Normally that’s not the kind of thing people feel the need to share.
But after the Oklahoma State football coach literally said “I’ve probably done that a thousand times in my life” about driving with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit, some clarification was probably necessary.
Last week, Cowboys running back Ollie Gordon II, who rushed for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, was arrested in Cleveland County, Okla., and was charged with driving under the influence by a person under 21 and transporting an open container of an alcoholic beverage.
During an ESPNU interview Tuesday at Big 12 Conference media day, when Gundy was asked about his decision to allow Gordon to participate in the event, the longtime Cowboys coach explained he thought the 20-year-old Gordon should have a chance to “own up to things.”
And then the 56-year-old kept talking.
“So, I looked it up on my phone, ‘What would be the legal limit?’” Gundy said. “Like, in Oklahoma it’s .08 and Ollie was .1. So I looked it up and … I thought, really two or three beers, or four — I’m not justifying what Ollie did, I’m telling you what decision I made — well, I thought, I’ve probably done that a thousand times in my life and, you know, was just fine. So, I got lucky. People get lucky. Ollie made a decision that he wished he could’ve done better.”
And just like that, the man who made “I’m a man, I’m 40” a catchphrase in 2007 went viral again. Gundy attempted to clarify his comments on X later in the day.
My intended point today at Big 12 media days was that we are all guilty of making bad decisions. It was not a reference to something specific.
— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) July 9, 2024
“My intended point today at Big 12 media days was that we are all guilty of making bad decisions,” Gundy wrote. “It was not a reference to something specific.”
Gordon, who posted an apology for “the actions that led to my arrest” Monday on X, was given the choice by Gundy on whether he wanted to attend media days. The 2023 Doak Walker Award for the nation’s best running back winner explained to reporters why he chose to be there.
“You know, just showing maturity being here and being able to face everything that’s going on instead of ducking and running,” Gordon said. “I felt like it would have been disrespectful to leave my teammates and my coach up here and have them answer the questions when I can be here to answer them. I just felt like I would have left them in the dust if I just wouldn’t have shown up at all.”
Also during his ESPNU interview, Gundy defended his decision to not suspend Gordon.
“People have said, ‘Is he playing in the first game?’ Yeah, he’s playing in the first game because that’s what he does, OK? He needs to take care of his business,” Gundy said. “I’m not gonna seclude him and not play him in the game. I understand the severity of the situation and know this: Is suspending him for one game really gonna matter? I don’t think so. Now you wanna suspend him for six games maybe? Maybe that’ll do it, but then I don’t think that that’s fair to everybody else on our team and I have to take them into consideration.”
He added: “I made a decision based on what I thought was best for everybody involved and from this point moving forward he needs to try to do better, like we all do. And the one thing I would say to people is, just be cautious about judging unless you’ve never put yourself in that situation. … Ollie’s a great person that made a mistake.”