OSU football coach goes NUTS in press conference

[Duke84Blue]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aoMmbUmKN0E

Did anyone see Mike Gundy's (Oklahoma State football coach) press conference following their game last Saturday. Talk about passionate! It has nothing to do with their upset win over Texas Tech but with his objection to a newspaper article by a local reporter that came out that morning.

This has created quite a furor as there is one camp that is backing him for his defense of one of his players. On the flipside, there are those that are outraged that he "attacked" a journalist in this manner and believe he should be reprimanded.

Definitely worth watching...

[billybreen]

Maybe Bob Knight has changed my perception of what 'nuts' looks like, but I didn't find this too shocking. Now, I don't know whether the article warranted the reaction. If it was as obnoxious as Gundy seemed to think, I don't have any problem with his reaction.

Where does it say the media is safe from such a fiery response? They have the audience and control the narrative. Why can't the lens be turned back on them from time to time?

[TillyGalore]

Reprimanded for defending a player? "Are you kidding me?"

Kudos to the coach for not even uttering a swear word during his rant! I'd let my kid (if I had one) play for him in a heart beat.

Let me get this straight, it's okay for the reporter to publicly belittle a college athlete and print a story in which the facts seemingly aren't even true, and people are calling for the coach who publicly defended his player to be reprimanded? People; you're killing me!

[throatybeard]

Where does it say the media is safe from such a fiery response? They have the audience and control the narrative. Why can't the lens be turned back on them from time to time?

Frankly, this is why I still like RMK. He really takes it to them when they ask a question that's idiotic or designed to provoke.

[Johnboy]

I can't imagine anyone being upset with his reaction to that story. He has every right to defend his kids. I seem to recall Coach K getting a slightly steamed at an article in the Chronicle and letting them have it. He did it behind closed doors, definitely didn't hold back on the curse words, and someone taped it and made a big deal about it. I thought it was great of Coach K. Newspapers who write stories critical of good people who are athletes give their coaches an opportunity to stand up for them. I have to respect that in a coach.

[DevilWolf]

"This was brought to me by a mother ... of children."

[hc5duke]

And the other side speaks out

[captmojo]

I'd like to see that kind of passion out of a few more coaches in this country.

[AtlBluRew]

And the other side speaks out

I don't have one iota of sympathy for Carlson or her "credibility." The coach, who has said he now wishes he had prepared a speech instead of giving a rant off the cuff, did the right thing.

[elvis14]

I loved what coach Gundy did. I'm not a big fan of the modern day media so I'm biased and admittedly so. I had to change radio stations yesterday when one of the sports talk shows started criticizing the coach. Hmmmm...the media criticizing a coach for ranting about the media. They will protect their own! I respect where the coach came from and was entertained by his delivery.

[JasonEvans]

It seems impossible to judge this without actually reading the column in question -- well, here it is.

Personally, while I am very much on the side of freedom of the press and freedom to express your opinions, I think the column is pretty bad. It is clearly based on a lot of unproveable inuendo and the kind of stuff that --well-- would usually only be found on internet bulletin boards. The thing about eating the chicken is just strange and I have no idea what it has to do with anything nor what it proves. It reminds me a bit of the UNC fan obsession with Shav's mom cutting his stake (or something like that) that was internet fodder for a while. But should a columnist really be writing about stuff that even makes the folks at Inside Carolina feel squeamish?

The coach got mad because he felt the column was untrue (and it contains a ton of inuendo without many quotes or sources to back up the allegations) and was an attack on the character of a college player. I see his point about college kids getting a bit more leeway from the media than pro athletes. I tend to agree with him about this. His reaction was an overreaction, but it felt like he was steamed a bit and jst let his emotions get out of control. It can happen to anyone. The fact that he did not curse or throw stuff around the room seems to put him a notch above many other coaches when it comes to tirades.

I know the columnist in question is standing behind her work and her papre is standing behind her. I guess they feel they have to out of some journalistic integrity thing. I wish everyone in the media did not think it was some unforgiveable thing to say, "you know what, I am sorry. In retorspect that may not have been the right story/article/segment to tell." In this case, I think that would be an appropriate response.

--Jason "noted columnist Jason Whitlock seems to agree with me on this... I am not sure that is a good thing as I think Whitlock is a lunatic sometimes" Evans

[DevilCastDownfromDurham]

Jason, I'm glad you mentioned Shav and the "steak" story (which was overblown beyond all reason by spurned Tar Heel fans) because I immediately thought of Shav when this story broke. Specifically, I thought about that vile cheap shot Cauldon Tudor took at Shav a few years back.*

The column itself was nasty (and misinformed) but was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of criticizing a young man who played with and through a devastating series of injuries and illnesses. Shav was also called "soft" and the steak story may very well have been in the back of Carlson's mind when she highlighted Reid's mom feeding him chicken.

I'm not sure that K should have reacted as the OSU coach did, (in fact, I'm pretty sure he should not have) but I felt that a lot of the discussion about Shav was equally unfair and I wish more people had said something. College athletes are, in a lot of ways, still kids. They get paid nothing while making a lot of adults huge piles of money (different thread, I know) and they are often not old enough to go and buy a glass of beer.

Where college athletes run afoul of the law they are, IMO, fair game. But writing that Reid (or Shav) is "soft" is like writing a column mocking a player for being heavyset or having poor hygiene. And it's especially egregious when, as here, the player has impeccable character. If Tudor's column had read "Sean May is Still Most Talented Center, but Fat Body, Lazy Attitude Hurting Heel's Chances" he would have been way out of bounds. So was Tudor and so is Carlson.





*In a column printed two days before Christmas, and responding to Shav's diagnosis of Mono, the column referred to him as a "dud" and argued that he would have been better off if he hadn't come to Duke.

The full column is available here:
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/t...ry/248211.html

and the N&O had further discussion here:
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/...ry/214718.html

[elvis14]

I'm all for freedom of the press and the freedom to express one's opinions. But the there's a point where the press becomes irresponsible and overly intrusive and there's the whole thing where the press misuses these freedoms and hides behind them when they do something that's just not right. Did the coach overreact. Sure he did and it was great!!! I find it ironic that the reporter and the paper are taking the journalistic integrity route considering the whole thing started by the reporter writing an article that lacked, you guessed it, journalistic integrity. Classic!

[GDT]

College athletes are, in a lot of ways, still kids. They get paid nothing while making a lot of adults huge piles of money (different thread, I know) and they are often not old enough to go and buy a glass of beer.

Where college athletes run afoul of the law they are, IMO, fair game. But writing that Reid (or Shav) is "soft" is like writing a column mocking a player for being heavyset or having poor hygiene. And it's especially egregious when, as here, the player has impeccable character. If Tudor's column had read "Sean May is Still Most Talented Center, but Fat Body, Lazy Attitude Hurting Heel's Chances" he would have been way out of bounds. So was Tudor and so is Carlson.

I don't know, my first reaction was the same - this is an inappropriate column. Personal attacks on college athletes are best left to internet bulletin boards where they can be accessed by millions rather than in print, which no one reads anymore. Or to sports talk radio and its podcasts. I still question the motive and the judgment of the columnist who wrote it. But the coach's response seems like grandstanding to me. Talk to the columnist first, don't go on a tirade about having to console your 5 year old about a weight slur. A college QB (or a Bob Knight point guard) gets much worse treatment from coaches, teammates and opposing (and sometimes supporting) fans from time to time.

[mapei]

I thought the coach's repeated "but you don't have children, do you?" put him on the same low moral ground as the writer he criticized. That's a pretty sensitive and personal subject for a lot of women.

He had a point, but his manner undermined it IMO.

[elvis14]

--Jason "noted columnist Jason Whitlock seems to agree with me on this... I am not sure that is a good thing as I think Whitlock is a lunatic sometimes" Evans

Thanks for the link to the Jason Whitlock article. I agree with what he's saying. He says it better than I :-). Which is a good thing because that's his job.

[JasonEvans]

I thought the coach's repeated "but you don't have children, do you?" put him on the same low moral ground as the writer he criticized. That's a pretty sensitive and personal subject for a lot of women.

He had a point, but his manner undermined it IMO.

From watching the entire news conference, it is clear to me that the coach went in there intending to scold the reporter, which may or may not ahve been a good idea, and ended up letting his emotions really get the best of him. His comments pretty clearly spun out of control as his voice raised and he got more and more mad.

I am sure many of us can relate-- you think you are calm but upset... but as you talk about the thing that has you upset your calm melts away and you get really angry. I know that has happened to me. More often than not I say things I really should not under these circumstances and I end up wondering how it came out of my mouth that way. Thankfully, this does not happen often.

It is worth noting that the coach's comments came in the heat of the moment, while the none-too-professional column was written slowly and had plenty of time to go through edits and other barriers to wrecklessness... none of which stopped it from reaching the pages of the newspaper.

This is not to excuse some of the inflamatory comments by the coach, but I think comparing them to the words written and published by the (supposedly) professional journalist is not a fair comparison.

--Jason "there is a school of thought that this was a calculated move by the coach-- I must admit he is more famous today than he was a few days ago and he has ammo when he tells recruits, 'I'll have your back and always be on your side'" Evans

[Clipsfan]

--Jason "there is a school of thought that this was a calculated move by the coach-- I must admit he is more famous today than he was a few days ago and he has ammo when he tells recruits, 'I'll have your back and always be on your side'" Evans

That makes a lot of sense. The old adage "No publicity is bad publicity" is definitely true in this case. I happen to side with the coach's overall message, although I think he did stray a little in the delivery.

[throatybeard]

I'm not sure that K should have reacted as the OSU coach did, (in fact, I'm pretty sure he should not have)

Coach K shouldn't have simply because he's got more to lose than this guy.

I'm 100% in the corner of screaming OSU guy though.

[mapei]

Not me. Yes, the coach was entitled to rebut the reporter, and to do so publicly. But he was way out of line for, as Sally Jenkins put it in a column today, repeatedly berating her for not being a mother.