Oklahoma State squashes Mike Gundy's goal of having players back by May 1
Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy isn’t afraid of creating some headlines, whether it’s good, bad or indifferent. This week, the longtime leader of the Cowboys made some controversial comments that received plenty of negative attention.
While speaking with the media recently, Gundy made some strange remarks when it came to the question about when players can get back on campus and start preparing for the 2020 college football season. And it’s forced Oklahoma State to make a statement of its own.
Sports Betting in Big Ten Country
There is big news coming to the upcoming 2022-23 Big Ten football season (and NFL season). Ohio online sports betting and Maryland sports betting are on the way.
21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
“We get people that get the flu during the season, we quarantine them, we treat them, we make sure they’re healthy, we bring ’em back,” Gundy said, according to ESPN. “It would be the same thing here, but at some point, we’ve got to go back to work. We’ve got to get these guys back in here. … From what I read, the healthy people can fight this, the antibodies make it better. They’re doing some blood transplants now with the people that have already gotten the disease, that have gotten over it that have the antibodies that can fight it. There’s a lot of people who can figure this out. May 1’s our goal. Don’t know if it will happen. Players will come in after that.”
Gundy backed up his statement by saying that young, healthy student-athletes have “the ability to fight this virus off.”
“The NCAA, the presidents of the universities, the Power Five conference commissioners, the athletic directors need to be meeting right now and we need to start coming up with answers,” Gundy said. “In my opinion, we need to bring our players back. They are 18-, 19-, 20-, 21- and 22-years old and they are healthy and they have the ability to fight this virus off. If that is true, then we sequester them, and continue because we need to run money through the state of Oklahoma.”
Those comments didn’t sit too well with the university, forcing the school to release a statement.
“We will adhere to the advice of public health experts who are making informed decisions in the best interest of the citizens of our nation and state based on sound scientific data,” the statement read. “We will also abide by the federal and state mandates as well as Big 12 guidelines. We will not compromise the health and well-being of our campus community. This virus is deadly and we will do our part at Oklahoma State to help blunt the spread.”