Who is Cale Gundy? Longtime Oklahoma assistant steps down after using 'shameful and hurtful' word
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA - Cale Gundy, one of Oklahoma's long-time assistant coaches, resigned on Sunday, August 7, 2022, due to the repercussions of an incident during a team film screening session. Gundy's decision was communicated through a statement released by him on his official Twitter handle.
In his release, he stated that the key reason behind the resignation was reading out a "hurtful" word. Gundy is a former Sooners quarterback from 1990-93 and has been an assistant at the Oklahoma state university since 1999.
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Who is Cale Gundy?
Gundy, who has been with the program since 1999, said in his detailed statement that he accidentally said “one particular word that I should never under any circumstance have uttered". Gundy was the Big 12 Conference’s longest-tenured coach. He has been a constant in the Sooners’ football program over the past 24 seasons. Gundy quarterbacked the Sooners from 1990-1993, throwing for more than 6,000 yards and 35 touchdowns. He set records in 1992 with 1,914 passing yards in the Oklahoma University single-season and then bettered it with 2,311 yards the next season.
After serving as a graduate assistant at the university in 1994, he left the university to coach quarterbacks and then running backs at Alabama-Birmingham. Gundy also has a great reputation for being one of the top-notch recruiters and played a tremendous part in retaining the position under Stoops and then Lincoln Riley. In 2015, Gundy moved to coach inside receivers.
Regarding the incident, Gundy stated, "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 former coach noticed one of the players distracted during the film screening session and he went on to take his iPad. "I picked up his iPad and read aloud the words that were written on the 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," he explained.
The Oklahoma Football team has received the resignation and stated. “It’s with sadness that I accept Coach Gundy’s resignation,” Venables wrote. “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.”
Statement from head football coach Brent Venables: pic.twitter.com/aXe3ak9uza
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) August 8, 2022
“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," Gundy wrote. "I won’t do the program I love the disservice of distracting from that mission. Effective immediately, I am stepping down,” added Gundy in his statement. There are no further details regarding the incident that lead to Gundy's resignation. The word used by the former coach is still not revealed by him or any of the associates. L'Damian Washington will take up the new responsibilities of the team informed the Oklahoma football team.