Social Media Impacts Players, Here’s How Mike Gundy Manages It
BY MARSHALL SCOTT | PISTOLS FIRING BLOG
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State football Twitter hasn’t been the most positive of places over the past 12 months.
There is a reason for that. The Cowboys’ last win against an FBS program came on Sept. 14, 2024, against Tulsa. They’ll look to buck that streak this weekend when they host Tulsa at 6:30 p.m. Friday. But that 10-game losing streak to FBS foes has featured six games where the Pokes have lost by three touchdowns, including a 52-0 loss to Colorado that (with an offseason and an FCS game between) rolled into a 69-3 loss to Oregon.
With OSU on a bye this past weekend, there was a reprieve from the social media bombardment. However, after that loss in Eugene, national outlets, podcasts, and the like all highlighted the brutal reality OSU has found itself in.
Two things can be true.
- The OSU fanbase’s outrage is (to an extent) justified.
- Doom-scrolling the world telling them how bad they are isn’t beneficial to players.
“I have to address it just because it’s out there, right?” Gundy said. “It’s part of the world we live in. So, I share with them the importance of they need to be able to believe in themselves and what they’re trying to get accomplished and evaluate themselves and their defense and our team based on the information we give them. But we certainly don’t pretend to act like it’s not out there with them.”
“Now, I’m not on it. I don’t know what’s out there, but I know that there are things, so we do address it with them.”
Gundy was asked twice about how he had dealt with the social media aspect of things on Monday. His message was consistent: players can’t avoid it in the modern world, but it also can’t stop the work that needs to get done.
Before this season, transfer linebacker Brandon Rawls hadn’t played football under such a social microscope. His first four years of college football came at Division-II Saginaw Valley State. SVSU plays at Harvey Randall Wickes Memorial Stadium, which seats 6,800. That loss in Oregon was in front of 54,000 with many, many more watching at home.
“Being at Saginaw for three years, I got to watch from the outside how social media treats this division,” Rawls said. “So, coming here, I was already knowing what to expect. I was ready for social media, and how to kinda put that to the side and not pay attention to that.”
The most discussed social media posts amid the Oregon fallout came from within the Gundy household, when Gavin Gundy, Mike’s oldest son, posted some strongly worded messages in defense of his father.
“I can’t even get my own three boys to not read it,” Gundy said. “I can’t get that accomplished. If you can get that accomplished on our team, I will pay you a really good salary.”
“So here’s what I do: social media is going on. Phones are going on. It’s OK. You have to pick and choose, and then you have to be able to put certain things aside and go back to work. That’s how we handle it. And that doesn’t mean it’s right.”