Mike Gundy defends Ollie Gordon decision: 'You got out light because you make a lot of money to play'

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy opened up about the decision to bring Ollie Gordon to Big 12 Media Days despite the running back being charged with DUI.

Gordon was arrested earlier this month after being pulled over with open containers of vodka and tequila in his car. He had a blood alcohol level of .11 and .10, just above the legal limit of .08 in the state of Oklahoma.

The Cowboys RB was not suspended as a result of the arrest, leading Gundy to be asked his reasoning for that decision in an interview on ESPNU. The coach opened up on several perspectives, including his own as a parent, the mistakes he has made in his own life and how the changing landscape of college sports played a role.

“He’s gonna play. I’m gonna do what we think is best for Oklahoma State Football, and I think it’s best for Ollie [Gordon] to play. If there’s any punishment it’s make him carry the ball 50 times in the first game.” @CowboyFB Head Coach Mike Gundypic.twitter.com/dbnQWM5SKN

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) July 9, 2024

“College football has changed and we all know,” Gundy began. “We can say these guys aren’t employees, but they’re really employees. These guys get paid a lot of money, which is fine. But there needs to be a side to what they do that they have to be able to, for lack of a better term, face the music and own up to things. When I looked at it, I thought, okay, I’m gonna be real honest with myself first, and then make the best decision for what I think’s good for Ollie, our university and our team. And then, I started thinking about being a parent. I have a 28, I have a 23 and I have a 19 [year-old]. And first, I thought, OK, so I looked it up on my phone, what would be the legal limit? In Oklahoma, it’s 0.08, and Ollie was 0.1. So I looked it up, and it was based on body weight – not to get into the legal side of it.

“But I thought, really, two or three beers, or four – I’m not justifying what Ollie did. I’m telling you what decision I made. I thought, I’ve probably done that 1,000 times in my life. Which is fine. So I got lucky. People get lucky. Ollie made a decision that he wished he could’ve done better. But when I talked to Ollie, I told him, you’re lucky. You got out light because you make a lot of money to play football. Back in the day, being able to cover the cost of what he’s gonna go through would be difficult for a college player. It’s not for him. I’m not speaking for him, but I’m just saying that’s not an issue for him. Nobody got hurt. I said, we see people doing this and people losing their lives across the country – not just football players, but everybody. So you got out lucky.”

Gordon enters this season as a Heisman Trophy candidate after leading the country in rushing this past season with 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns. He is undoubtedly the team’s star player, yet it’s definitely out of the ordinary that he did not receive any punishment whatsoever from the team.

Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez was arrested for DUI ahead of the 2022 season and missed the first four games of the year. Gordon, however, will not miss even one game as Gundy confirmed he will be available for the season opener against South Dakota State on Aug. 31.

“If there’s any punishment, it’s make him carry the ball 50 times in the first game,” the coach said.

That’s not to say Gundy didn’t address the situation with Gordon, though. The pair spoke about the decision to bring the running back to Big 12 Media Days and taking accountability for his actions.

“I said, ‘Do you want to go to Big 12 Media [Days]? Because I’m not gonna make that decision for you. You’re gonna make that decision,'” Gundy explained. “He said, ‘Coach, I think I should go.’ I said, ‘No. Do you want to go?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I want to go.’ Then I said, ‘Yes, we’re gonna take you. We’re not gonna shield you from any questions. You’re gonna face everybody there, and you need to give the answer that you think’s best for you. And then, I hope that you can learn from this and make you a better’ – he’s a great person that made a mistake – ‘help you for the rest of your life, try not to make a difficult decision as we move forward.’ But I said, ‘See, there’s two things here Ollie. You need to answer for this, and guess who else has to answer for it? Me. And I’m gonna answer for it. Here’s what I’m gonna tell them. I’m bringing you out here because you were the person that was in that situation. They need to talk to you. I’m gonna tell them, at 4:00 today, this is over with for me.’

“We’ve talked about all this. People have said, is he playing in the first game? Yeah, he’s playing in the first game because that’s what he does. He needs to take care of his business. I’m not gonna seclude him and not play him in the game. Understand the severity of the situation and know this, is suspending him for one game really gonna matter? I don’t think so. Now, you want to suspend him for six games, maybe? Maybe that’d do it? But then, I don’t think that’s fair to everybody else on our team and I have to take them into consideration. We didn’t really start giving him the ball until Game 4 last year, anyway. So Game 1, he’s not there, what’s the effect? I made a decision based on what I thought was best for everybody involved, and from this point moving forward, he needs to try to do better, like we all do.”

Finally, Gundy asked people to “be cautious about judging” Ollie Gordon for the DUI arrest. He continued to stick up for his player and the person that he is, saying that one night doesn’t tell the full story.

“The one thing I would say to all people is just be cautious about judging unless you’ve never put yourself in that situation,” the coach said. “And I think that if you look at it that way and understand, hey, Ollie, you’re lucky. You could’ve done something that affects you and somebody else and their families for the rest of their life. And I really think Ollie feels that way. Ollie’s a great person that made a mistake.”

This story will be updated.