Longtime University of Oklahoma assistant football coach Cale Gundy has resigned owing to a film-session incident when he read aloud from a player’s tablet and uttered a racial slur. Gundy announced the decision with a lengthy statement on Twitter around 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
“Last week, during a film session, I instructed my players to take notes. I noticed a player was distracted and picked up his iPad and read aloud the words that were written on his screen. The words displayed had nothing to do with football,” Gundy wrote in the statement. “One particular word that I should never — under any circumstance — have uttered was displayed on that screen. In the moment, I did not even realize what I was reading and, as soon as I did. I was horrified.”
Gundy, 50, said “a man of character accepts accountability,” and he said he was “mature enough” to do so.
“I want to be very clear: The words I read aloud from that screen were not my words. What I said was not malicious; it wasn’t even intentional. Still, I am mature enough to know that the word I said was shameful and hurtful, no matter my intentions,” Gundy wrote. “The unfortunate reality is that someone in my position can cause harm without ever meaning to do so. In that circumstance, a man of character accepts accountability. I take responsibility for my mistake. I apologize.”
Gundy, a former OU starting quarterback who joined the coaching staff in 1999, had been the Big 12’s longest-tenured coach, and his sudden departure — especially under circumstances that could be politicized in ongoing public discourse — comes less than a month before the 2022 season’s kickoff and Brent Venables’ first game as OU head coach.
“While considering this decision, I have been overwhelmed by the love and support from those who know me, my character, and my love for this program. I truly appreciate the support my players and coaches have shown. That support means more to me than I can express; it proves what I’ve always known about OU DNA — we are a family, so thank you,” Gundy said. “Nevertheless, I recognize this is a critical moment for Oklahoma football. This team — its coaches, players, administration, and fans — do not deserve to be distracted by off-the-field matters while working to continue the tradition of excellence that makes me so proud to be a Sooner. I won’t do the program I love the disservices of distracting from this mission.”
The Sooners play their first game of the 2022 season on Saturday, Sept. 3, in Norman against the University of Texas at El Paso. On Aug. 2, Jay Upchurch of Sooner Spectator magazine quoted Gundy as being optimistic about the season and the program.
About 13 minutes after Gundy posted his statement on Twitter, the OU football program handle posted a statement from Venables.
“It’s with sadness that I accept Coach Gundy’s resignation. He’s dedicated more than half of his life to Oklahoma football and has served our program and university well. We’re thankful for that commitment. We also acknowledge that in stepping aside he’s placed the program and the welfare of our student-athletes first. In coaching and in life, we’re all accountable for our actions and the resulting outcomes,” Venables wrote. “The culture we’re building in our program is based on mutual respect. Our staff is here to develop successful student-athletes, but also young men of character. As the leaders of this program, it’s essential that we hold ourselves to the highest standards as we model for our players the type of men we want them to become. L’Damian Washington, who has been serving as an offensive analyst for our program, will coach our wide receivers on an interim basis.”
Monday, after many fans and former players offered strong support for Gundy on social media, Venables released a second statement further condemning Gundy’s actions.
“As painful as it has been dealing with Coach Gundy resigning from the program, it doesn’t touch the experience of pain felt by a room full of young men I am charged to protect, lead and love. There are a few things I would like to address,” Venables wrote. “Coach Gundy resigned from the program because he knows what he did was wrong. He chose to read aloud to his players, not once but multiple times, a racially charged word that is objectionable to everyone, and does not reflect the attitude and values of our university or our football program. This is not acceptable. Period. Coach Gundy did the right thing in resigning. He knows our goals for excellence and that coaches have special responsibilities to set an example. He also knows that, while he will always be a part of the OU family, that his words affected many of us and did not represent the principles of our university. Again, his resignation was the right thing to do, and we will move forward positively.”
In recent years, OU has found itself in the national spotlight for a series of incidents in which the racial slur against Black Americans was uttered by students and faculty. Most notably, the OU chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was banned and the university repurposed the chapter house following a 2015 video in which SAE members repeated a racist chant.
In 2020, journalism professor Peter Gade and history professor Kathleen Brosnan both said the word while instructing classes. Gade was arguing that the phrase “OK, Boomer” was as insulting to him as the racial slur is to Black people. Brosnan was reading from a historical document that repeatedly included the slur. Gade remained on faculty for two more years before retiring this spring.
Full statement from Cale Gundy
Gundy’s full statement on Twitter reads:
I moved to Norman fresh out of high school in 1990. It feels like I never left. I have devoted nearly all my adult life to Oklahoma football. My children graduated from OU; so did my wife. For almost three decades, this university has been my home, these players have been my family. Today, with great anguish, I announce my resignation. I apologize to those who are disappointed by this news…
I owe it to Sooner Nation to be transparent about what led to this decision: Last week, during a film session, I instructed my players to take notes. I noticed a player was distracted and picked up his iPad and read aloud the words that were written on his screen. The words displayed had nothing to do with football. One particular word that I should never — under any circumstance — have uttered was displayed on that screen. In the moment, I did not even realize what I was reading and, as soon as I did. I was horrified.
I want to be very clear: the words I read aloud from that screen were not my words. What I said was not malicious; it wasn’t even intentional. Still, I am mature enough to know that the word I said was shameful and hurtful, no matter my intentions. The unfortunate reality is that someone in my position can cause harm without ever meaning to do so. In that circumstance, a man of character accepts accountability. I take responsibility for my mistake. I apologize.
While considering this decision, I have been overwhelmed by the love and support of those who know me, my character, and my love for this program. I truly appreciate the support my players and coaches have shown. That support means more to me than I can express; it proves what I’ve always known about #OUDNA — we are a family, so thank you.
Nevertheless, I recognize this is a critical moment for Oklahoma football. This team — its coaches, players, administration, and fans — do not deserve to be distracted by off-the-field matters while working to continue the tradition of excellence that makes me so proud to be a Sooner. I won’t do the program I love the disservice of distracting from this mission. Effective immediately, I am stepping down.
Naturally, I leave these sidelines heavy hearted. Coaching this football team truly has been my life’s passion. But I leave confident that the team will continue to prosper and I leave with tremendous love for the University of Oklahoma and its athletics department. Sooner born, Sooner bred, and so on…
Boomer!
Background on Cale Gundy
The younger brother of longtime Oklahoma State University football coach Mike Gundy, Cale Gundy became one of the nation’s top quarterback recruits in 1989 at Midwest City High School. He went on to start for former coach Gary Gibbs, playing in 11 games as a freshman and earning the Big Eight’s Offensive Newcomer of the Year award in 1990.
Gundy led OU to a career record of 31-13-2, earning first-team All-Big Eight honors in his final season in Norman and even pitching 34 innings on the baseball team in 1992. One of his most notable moments as a quarterback came in the 1990 Bedlam game in Stillwater. Late in the first half, Gundy connected with tight end Adrian Cooper on a 48-yard touchdown pass dubbed the “Cale Mary” because it helped the Sooners beat the Cowboys in their annual grudge match.
In 1999, Gundy became a member of Bob Stoops’ new staff, ultimately coaching OU’s running backs for 16 years and then wide receivers for the past seven seasons. Gundy has been praised for his prowess on the recruiting trail, and he was credited with drawing talented players like Adrian Peterson, Marvin Mims, Theo Wise, CeeDee Lamb, Rodney Anderson and Austin Stogner out of Texas in a July report from USA Today.
When former OU head coach Lincoln Riley departed for USC in November, Gundy served as offensive coordinator for the Alamo Bowl and told The Athletic he never had any intention of leaving the Sooner sidelines.
“It’s the first time I’d ever had to go through anything like that,” Gundy said. “I didn’t even think twice about it. I didn’t really pursue anything. I put my head down and said I was gonna do whatever I had to do to keep this thing from unraveling as much as I possibly can. I took a huge chance.”
Follow @NonDocMedia with:
(Update: This story was updated about 15 minutes after it first published to include statement from Venables. It was updated again at 3:05 p.m. Monday, Aug. 7, to include Venables’ second statement.)
