Oklahoma Cancels This Week's Media Access
Perhaps aggravated by specific policies being broken on Tuesday, perhaps simply approaching the second half of the college football season with a more closed-ranks mentality, Oklahoma made the administrative decision to cancel regularly scheduled media access on Wednesday.
Head coach Lincoln Riley met with media in person for his usual 30-minute press conference at noon on Tuesday, but the administration pulled back on the normal Wednesday video conference calls with select players.
This procedure change came a day after student reporters from the OU Daily reported developments in the quarterback situation regarding Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams. The Daily reported that it had observed Tuesday’s practice from a campus building near the football practice facility. The practice field is across the street from the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Watching practice is a violation of OU’s long-standing media policies, although those policies are not expressly written on the athletics department website, in the 2021 media guide or in the weekly pregame notes package.
Another change in the normal media routine this week: offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh followed Riley’s press conference, instead of the usual 20-minute session with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.
OU made players Reggie Grimes and Marvin Mims available for Zoom calls on Tuesday afternoon.
Riley has met with a small group of local beat writers and columnists every Thursday this season, but that has been canceled this week as well, per an email advisory from an OU athletic department spokesman.
