Oklahoma State players allege racism from coach Mike Gundy as they rally around teammate

Dan Bernstein

Oklahoma State players allege racism from coach Mike Gundy as they rally around teammate image

Current and former members of the Oklahoma State football team on Monday rallied around running back Chuba Hubbard's pledge not to play for coach Mike Gundy until a photo of him wearing a shirt from far-right cable news channel OAN was addressed.

Out of the voices of support for Hubbard came new accusations against Gundy of racist behavior against black players.

Wide receiver LC Greenwood, who entered the NCAA transfer portal in January, wrote in a since-deleted post on Twitter that Gundy would call him a "hood rat" and "thug" and threaten him over his clothing choices. Others backed the claim and added stories of their own. Former Oklahoma State linebacker Patrick Macon wrote that Gundy would tell him and defensive back Kanion Williams they were in danger of being sent back to South Dallas.

Macon also wrote that Gundy would ignore him off the field.

lc-greenwood-ok-state-deleted-tweet

MORE: Why OK State players are outraged about Gundy's shirt

In statement posted to Twitter, Oklahoma City president Burns Hargis said "we will not tolerate insensitive behavior by anyone at Oklahoma State" but did not mention Gundy by name.

Later, athletic director Mike Holder said "the tweets from the current and former players are of grave concern.”

The accusations mark the second time this year a major college football program has been called out for allegedly fostering a racist environment for players. Previously, white Clemson assistant coach Danny Pearman admitted to using the N-word in a 2017 practice in an incident head coach Dabo Swinney knew about.

Hubbard, who began the wave of criticism toward Gundy, rushed for 2,094 yards last season and is considered one of the team's best players. 

"I will not stand for this," Hubbard wrote, quote-tweeting a picture of Gundy in the OAN shirt. "This is completely insensitive to everything going on in society, and it’s unacceptable. I will not be doing anything with Oklahoma State until things CHANGE."

Dan Bernstein