Hubbard and Gundy Have a Meeting and Come to an Agreement
STILLWATER -- The volatile reaction that erupted around the Oklahoma State football program as a result of a fishing picture from last week at Lake Texoma with Gundy wearing a One America News network t-shirt has calmed down some after Gundy met late in the afternoon with star running back Chuba Hubbard and some other Cowboys players in the West End Zone.
Following the meeting, Gundy and Hubbard stood next to each other in socially distance appropriate space before coming together to shake hands and hug.
"In light of today's tweet and the t-shirt that I was wearing, I met with some players and realized it is a very sensitive issue in light of what is going on in today's society," Gundy started. "So, we had a great meeting and made aware of some things that players feel like can make our organization and our culture even better than it is here at Oklahoma State. I'm looking forward to making some changes and it starts at the top with me and we've got good days ahead."
Chuba responded immediately with this.
"I'll start with that I went about this the wrong way by tweeting. I'm not some one that, you know, has to tweet to make a change," Hubbard continued. "I should have gone to him as a man and I'm more about action. That was bad on my part, but from now on we're going to be more focused on making change and that is the most important thing."
The head coach and the player shook hands and then did the quick hug.
The whole episode, which became the lead story in Stillwater and across the State of Oklahoma, started when a picture was tweeted out a by a fishing guide at Lake Texoma this past week and was picked up and retweeted on Monday. The guide and Gundy and his two sons had some really good fortune fishing for striped bass. Gundy was wearing the t-shirt for One America News, a conservative news channel and website that pushes the conservative side of new stories and those political views.
All-American running back Chuba Hubbard saw the photo on Twitter and responded.
Gundy has talked of watching OAN before and he is known as a conservative politically and has supported President Trump and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt. Gundy is known as a staunch supporter of the American military and the American way of life. He has never been labeled a racist.
In fact, Pokes Report knows that last week Gundy held a meeting for team members that had already come back to campus in the first two waves. The meeting in the team room was specifically for players to make their voices heard on issues to teammates, coaches, and staff.
"We want to hear what you guys are thinking and feeling," Gundy had said to the players. "As head coach I promise that I will do everything in my power to help you guys get your message across."
We spoke to two people, a staff member and a player, that were there in the meeting and wished to remain anonymous. They said it went well with players opening up and coaches and staff primarily listening.
After today, there was more to say and more for the head coach to apparently listen to. Now, the hope is they will move forward together. This will go down as one of the more interesting summer days on the Oklahoma State campus and in the West End Zone Cowboy football headquarters.
