Oklahoma State University fired Mike Gundy on Tuesday, ending a coaching tenure that will always be memorable. Especially the ending. Especially the fact that Gundy was embarrassed, initially not allowed to speak to his players to tell them he was canned a day after he acted like their leader, when he actually wasn’t, and the school’s administrators knew it and kept it hidden from him.
The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson, the target of Gundy’s viral “I’m a man, I’m 40!” speech, shared a stunning message.
She feels no validation, only emptiness, about how it went down.
“That what-goes-around-comes-around text was one of many similar messages received in the aftermath of Gundy’s dismissal. Friends and acquaintances who didn’t like how I was treated or how he had acted all those years ago had a sense of justice being done this week,” Carlson wrote.
“Vindication, if you will. I feel none of that. I have no joy about Mike Gundy being fired.
“Change was necessary. I only wish it could’ve happened without Gundy losing his job.”
Gundy’s famous rant was a call for him to receive the criticism, not former OSU quarterback Bobby Reid.
“Attacking an amateur athlete for doing everything right. And then you want to write articles about guys that don't do things right and downgrade them — the ones who do make plays. Are you kidding me? Where are we at in society today? Come after me! I'm a man! I'm 40! I'm not a kid. Write something about me, or our coaches,” Reid said.
Gundy’s speech is beloved by many fans, if bemoaned by Carlson. His firing is condemned by everyone, Carlson included.