OSU Allegations: Oklahoma State Responds To Damaging ‘Sports Illustrated’ Report

OSU is “very concerned” about recent allegations made by Sports Illustrated.

Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder and football coach Mike Gundy spoke to the media this week about a recent Sports Illustrated investigation. The magazine believes that Oklahoma State violated several NCAA rules and may have even paid their players.

The Sports Illustrated report hasn’t been published yet, but Gundy and Holder are already apologizing for any mistakes they have made in the past.

Holder said: “As the athletic director at Oklahoma State and an alumnus of Oklahoma State University, I don’t want to believe that it’s true… We take this personally. We’re all committed to playing by the rules and doing things the right way around here, and for people to say that’s not what’s happening is very disturbing.”

Gundy added: “I’m going to guess that once we get all the information and we see what’s out there, then our administration and the people inside will look at it and we’ll see where we made mistakes and we’ll try to make ourselves better and we’ll correct it and then we’ll move forward.”

USA Today notes that the allegations against OSU include paying players for performance on the field, changing grades or having players’ work completed by others, and covering up drug abuse among players. The report is also expected to detail sexual relations between players and the hostesses in the Orange Pride program.

Holder said: “Our goal is to separate fact from fiction and then we can start dealing with it… We’re not going to try to cover anything up. I’m the guy in charge and ultimately the buck stops at my door. I’m willing to accept responsibility for whatever is being said.”