Mike Gundy reportedly called opposing player racist slurs during playing career at Oklahoma State

A former Colorado player says Mike Gundy called him the N-word during a game in 1989.

After Dabo Swinney found himself buried in controversy earlier this month over an unfortunate fashion choice, another Power 5 coach has proceeded to steal the unfortunate spotlight for all the wrong reasons. On the heels of stirring controversy by donning a T-shirt promoting the problematic One America News Network, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy found himself at odds with star running back Chuba Hubbard in a social media dustup that still doesn’t feel fully settled despite the two seemingly making amends on video.

But if a separate allegation against Gundy is true, Hubbard might just lead a march right out of Stillwater forever.

According to former Colorado Buffaloes linebacker Alfred Williams, Gundy, while a quarterback at Oklahoma State, used racist language to refer to him and his CU teammates during a game in 1989.

Former Colorado LB Alfred Williams accused Oklahoma State head coach and former QB Mike Gundy of using racially abusive language toward him during a game.

This is a serious allegation, to say the very least. It doesn’t matter if it happened 31 years ago; coaching young men toward a higher purpose is a privilege and not a right.

And it’s not like Mr. “I’m a Man, I’m 40” wasn’t already capable of proving that he can be more trouble than he’s worth for the Cowboys program.

It’s worth noting that Williams’ claim isn’t new and out of the blue. One discerning Twitter denizen found a contemporaneous report of the accusation from an old newspaper clipping after Colorado took on Oklahoma State on Nov. 11, 1989, a game the Buffs won 41-17.

As the story notes, Gundy flatly denied using racist language. Unfortunately, his go-to defense sent him down the cringeworthy “a lot of my friends are black” route.

Following the Hubbard controversy, Gundy joined together with his star running back and pledged positive change. In light of these re-discovered details, however, the path to a better program in Stillwater gets a heck of a lot harder.