Chuba Hubbard Discusses Relationship With Mike Gundy on First Take

Chuba Hubbard went on ESPN’s First Take on Thursday morning to discuss what the last few days have been like and answer questions about his relationship with head coach Mike Gundy. He was good — per the usual — and we transcribed everything he said below.

Feelings on Seeing Gundy in the Shirt

“When I first saw that tweet a lot of emotions were going through my head as well as my teammates. I’m a man, I can admit when I’m wrong. The way I went about it was not right, but I stand by everything I said. I’m not a politician, I don’t know anything about any of that, but I stand for what’s right and I felt what he did wasn’t right.”

On Education in the Present Moment

“I feel a lot of people need to be educated, including myself. It’s my job to educate myself first and then to educate people who aren’t educated. A lot of things have happened in these last few days and even these last few years, but my job is to move forward and try to make Oklahoma State a better place.

“I’m not trying to bash anybody, belittle anybody … I’m just trying to bring awareness to the injustice that’s going on in our society. I’m also trying to help kids — student-athletes just like me — encourage them to use their voice and use their platform because change can happen.”

How Their Original Video Came About

“We had long conversations. That video came out and a lot of people thought, ‘Everything is good now,’ and that’s not the case. It’s a work in progress. I wanted that video to be the first step to show that he understands what he did wrong and he needs to move forward, and if not then there’s consequences for those things. That’s the main thing that I wanted to come out of that video.”

On Relationship with Gundy

“I can’t answer for other people — everybody feels differently about him — me and coach Gundy’s relationship is a work in progress. He’s admitted to his faults, and he’s trying to move forward. I see that as a positive first step.”

On Allegations of Gundy Using the N-word in 1989

You can read that story here.

“Situations like those are tough. I was born in 1999, so I personally can’t comment on something I don’t have any information on. I believe the people that were there know the truth, and that’s the most important thing.”

On What He Wants from This

“Change, we need change now. That’s the biggest thing. There’s a lot of people on our team that are passionate about the same things I’m passionate about. The thing about our team that’s so special is that we’re one. We’re tightly-knit, and we have great chemistry. We all want the same thing, and that’s to have a better experience for Black athletes and all athletes at Oklahoma State.”

On What Specific Change

“Bettering the experience for a Black student-athlete. I want athletes to come into Oklahoma State — and really every university — and be proud to go through there and say, ‘I’m a Black student, Oklahoma State represented me well and I represented them well.’

“I won’t go into complete specifics on exactly what we want changed as a team, but I’ll say this, we want a better experience for Black student-athletes and we want to encourage people to use their voice and use their platform for good. That’s the biggest thing.”

On His Relationship with Gundy Previously

“[My relationship with coach Gundy before this] was also a work in progress. Every relationship has bumpy roads, whether it’s a good relationship or bad relationship. Coach Gundy has done a lot of good things so I will not just shut out a man for one thing he did, but he did do wrong and he’s going to have to make up for that.”

His Message for Other Athletes

“Be brave and be proud and be strong. I realized speaking out there’s a lot of people behind me backing me up and that are with me for the same reason. The biggest thing is use your voice, your platform is powerful. No matter if you’re an All-American, a walk-on, no matter who you are. No matter if you’re just a regular student, use your voice, it’s powerful. That’s the most powerful weapon. I want everybody to do what’s right and always believe in your core values and what gets you up every day.”