Watch: Mike Gundy Has Shared His Opinion On Society Multiple Times In The Past

Mike Gundy has never been one to shy away from sharing his opinion on a variety of topics throughout his coaching career. This candid approach has, at times, contributed to his popularity—not only locally but also nationally, where he has been praised for his openness. However, there have also been instances where his remarks have raised questions about whether he was referencing Oklahoma State fans specifically.

How much does timing influence the perception of comments made by a head coach? The Cowboys are currently in the midst of a six-game losing streak, something that few expected, given the amount of talent returning from a team that won 10 games last season. OSU was widely considered a team capable of not only competing for a conference championship but also contending for a spot in the new playoff system.

As emotions have boiled over in recent days, Gundy issued an apology, and President Shrum also released a statement. Gundy clarified that his intent was not to offend the fans who continue to support the program. Still, some believe that the context of his comments reflects his broader views on today's society. This is a topic Gundy has addressed multiple times in recent years, in various media settings. "That's just my opinion," he has repeatedly stated, underscoring the consistency of his perspective.

Oct of 2018 Mike Gundy was asked about criticism on Twitter

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about Twitter,” said Gundy as he stuck his tongue out. “It’s a platform for people that are sitting home drawing unemployment checks sitting in front of a keyboard,” he said, again sticking his tongue out and making a fake fart noise.

“I just kind of feel like social media and Twitter is kind of what’s destroying this country anyway,” he continued. “That’s how I feel about it. It gives people a platform to bitch, and then other people are needling it and they’re sitting at home and they’re late on a payment.”

Nov 12, 2018 after Bedlam loss. Gundy comments on players transferring.

“I think we live in a world where people are non-committal," Gundy said. "We allow liberalism to say, ‘Hey, I can just do what I want and I don’t have to really be tough and fight through it.’ You see that with young people because it’s an option they’re given. We weren’t given that option when we were growing up. We were told what to do, we did it the right way, or you go figure it out on your own.

"In the world today, there’s a lot of entitlement. I’m a firm believer in the snowflake. I think it’s setting there. And I’m not talking about Thabo. Thabo and I have had multiple good talks. I’m talking about every millennial young person. Generation Z, I think is what they call ’em. It’s the world we live in because if they say, ‘Well, it’s a little bit hard,’ we say, ‘OK, well, let’s go try something else.’ vs. ‘Hey, let’s bear down and let’s fight and do this.’ So you see a lot of that nowadays, and that doesn’t have anything to do with Thabo or (Jalen) McCleskey or anybody that’s been on the portal here.

45-27 home loss to Baylor Oct 2019

"It's not like I don't get frustrated either ... It's not like I don't notice and don't understand people's frustration, But we also live in a society today where people want to bitch and complain about everything instead of putting their pants on and go fix it. We're going to fix it. Nobody here is going to bitch and complain -- from me to the players to everybody who works in the football program."

Oct 10 2023 after beating Kansas State, but steal dealing with two early season losses to South Alabama and Iowa State. Gundy was offered up what he told his team.

"I did share this with you two weeks ago and last week, and I told the team this - I don't give a damn if we lost a game and if you want to pout about it, then don't come to practice, just stay home. Or go in the portal, I don't care."

"I only want guys that want to practice and compete and not feel sorry for themselves...and they responded. They bought into that."

"So that helps, but when you do play well, it's easier to coach them harder. But we still chose to coach them hard after we lost games versus going the other way because I don't see any results with young people in society today if you're going to be soft on them, because then they're going to get even more soft than they already are. That's just my opinion."

Mike Gundy at his weekly press conference via Zoom on Monday, called out fans with negative opinions on the program.

"In most cases, the people who are negative and voicing their opinions are the same ones that can't pay their own bills. They're not taking care of themselves. They're not taking care of their own family." Coach Gundy said. They're not taking care of their own job, but they have an obligation to speak out and complain about other people because it makes them feel better. But then in the end, they go to bed at night and they're the same failure they were before they said anything negative about anybody else."