Hubbard, Ogbongbemiga Won’t Participate at OSU ‘Until Things Change’ After Seeing Gundy in OAN Shirt

Chuba Hubbard announced on Monday that he will no longer be doing anything at Oklahoma State “until things change” after a picture of head coach Mike Gundy in a One America News Network shirt surfaced over the weekend.

“This is completely insensitive to everything going on in society, and it’s unacceptable,” wrote Hubbard. “I will not be doing anything with Oklahoma State until things CHANGE.”

Since Hubbard’s announcement, Amen Ogbongbemiga, Braydon Johnson, Tyler Lacy, Kolby Harvell-Peel and Teven Jenkins have tweeted in support of Hubbard’s stance with many saying they stand with him.

I will not stand for this.. This is completely insensitive to everything going on in society, and it’s unacceptable. I will not be doing anything with Oklahoma State until things CHANGE. https://t.co/psxPn4Khoq

— Chuba Hubbard (@Hubbard_RMN) June 15, 2020

One America News Network is a far-right news network whose reporters have propagated a number of conspiracy theories in recent years, including some about the origination of the coronavirus, which (coincidentally) is how this whole Gundy-OAN relationship began back in April.

“I tell you what’s funny is, I was flipping through stations,” said Gundy on a conference call with the media in April. “I found one — I don’t even know if anybody knows about this — it’s called OAN. It’s One America News. And it was so refreshing. They just report the news. There’s no commentary. There’s no opinions on this. There’s no left. There’s no right. They just reported the news.

“And I’ve been watching them the last week, because they’re given us the news and given us more information — in my opinion — some of the positives are coming out. So, that was refreshing.”

Chuba and Amen have both made their voices known on social media about the Black Lives Matter movement, which OAN has not exactly been kind to with its coverage. One of OAN’s hosts has referred to Black Lives Matter as “a criminal organization.” Ogbongbemiga has said that he’s attended at least one protest in Tulsa regarding the death of George Floyd, and Hubbard has spoken out about Floyd’s death as well. 

Chuba was part of a video released last week that featured several OSU athletes and coaches calling out racism and speaking about change.

“It’s time to bring change,” he said. “Too many people have been silent. Too many people have been brushing it off. Black lives do matter, and we will bring change together whether you’re with us or not.”

Gundy was not part of that video with Hubbard and others, but he did release a statement after the death of George Floyd.

“I can’t stop thinking about the horrible situation that happened in Minneapolis earlier this week,” wrote Gundy at the time. “I’ve been at a loss for words to describe the shocking video of George Floyd. My heart and prayers go out to his family.

“This disgraceful event means we must work harder together every day to put an end to the mistreatment of black Americans in our country. I’m thankful to be in an environment with Oklahoma State football and our Cowboy culture where we respect each other.

“The 200 people in our family understand and appreciate diversity and have compassion for one another. I hope we replace the rage with respect and all come together.”

The announcement by Hubbard and Ogbongbemiga led several other players to tweet (somewhat vaguely) about how some things need to change in Stillwater. Former running back Justice Hill noted that OSU athletics and the university “need major change” following that up by commenting to one person that the rest of us “don’t see everyday things.”

Where this goes from here is anyone’s guess. Oklahoma State has been bringing its players back in waves for the 2020 season, and voluntary workouts were originally slated to start this week. Apparently now without Chuba and Ogbongbemiga participating.

It’s been a wild year that I don’t think anyone would have believed if you’d given them half the stories that have happened since Jan. 1. This is another chapter in that year but one that might end up being the most important and most meaningful of all.

Not only are two of Oklahoma State’s star players publicly calling out their head coach, but they have others joining them. There is undoubtedly a peaceable path to reconciliation here, but in a week where we were supposed to start looking forward to a season things have gotten a lot rockier in Stillwater as the most powerful player at the school and the most powerful person in the town clearly do not see eye to eye on some very important topics.