In a recent interview with Heartland College Sports’ Pete Mundo, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum addressed some viral comments made about Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy.
Finebaum discussed Gundy’s comments about NIL on The Paul Finebaum Show and pondered why any recruit would want to play for him in Stillwater.
“The real problem, Sooner — and even if you’re saying, ‘Man, he makes a lot of sense. I wish my son could play for him’ — that’s not where the action is right now,” Finebaum said. “And what happens is, we’re in a headline-dominated world where everybody in high school now or anywhere else is gonna look at Mike Gundy as a grump. ‘He’s not the guy you want to play for.’ So you just check him off your list.
“And that program’s already in enough trouble because losing Oklahoma from the Big 12 is a big blow to Oklahoma State’s self-worth. Finebaum continued. “I’ve been to Stillwater. It’s an interesting place to go to a game. But why in the world would you go play for Mike Gundy when you can play in Norman for a coach who understands where college football is today?”
In his conversation with Mundo, Finebaum commented, “It’s not unreasonable, and I want to make it clear. A caller asked me about this and I was just simply rifting. I just want people to understand that I didn’t sit around like a Supreme Court justice coming up with that declaration. The reason why I criticize it, is not that it was wrong. I mean, yeah, I’ve been around a while. I tend to think that was probably a smart thing to think. But is it a smart thing to say in 2024 when that headline gets disseminated?”
“I’m on [ESPN’s] “Get Up!” yesterday, and it comes up, and it goes out, and if you’re a high school player in Texas or somewhere else, you’re going, “That guy doesn’t like NIL.” And I realize in the same conversation, we’re talking about the QR code on the helmet. So it’s really the messaging. And you can like Mike Gundy or not, but the problem is, in today’s world, he came off in my mind as kind of the “Get off your lawn” guy. And before anybody says, ‘Have you ever been to Stillwater for a game?’ I have. I’ve been I was out there in 2013 when College GameDay was there for the Baylor game on a late November day that was sleeting, snowing, raining, and about 28 degrees. So I got, I got a good taste of Stillwater Oklahoma. Thank you.”
Gundy and Finebaum’s comments went viral on social media, with millions in the college football sphere commenting on the changes in modern-day athletics. With Mike Gundy telling media members that NIL is non-negotiable during the season and for players to “tell their agent to quit calling and asking for more money,” the legendary head coach added yet another iconic statement to his quote sheet.
