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Mike Gundy Apologizes for Calling Fans Weak Failures 'Who Can't Pay Their Own Bills'

Stephen Douglas

Mike Gundy reacts to a call.
Mike Gundy reacts to a call. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State Cowboys are having a rough season. The team is currently 3-6 and in dead last place in the Big XII with an 0-6 record in the conference. Headed for the football program's first losing season since Gundy's very first year in Stillwater nearly two decades ago, fans are frustrated.

And so is Gundy. The coach went off on critical fans during his weekly press conference on Monday calling people complaining "weak" and "failures" who "can't pay their own bills."

Here's the clip.

"This place has had tremendous success for 18 and a half years or 19, I can't do the math real good," Gundy said. "And so unfortunately, in life, most people are weak and as soon as things start to not go as good as what they thought, they fall apart and they panic. And then they want to point the finger and blame other people. You see it happen in everyday life. People do it all the time.

"That's why I refuse to watch the TV and watch the news because I get tired of people complaining and bitching about this and that versus just doing something about it and trying to figure out a way to make it better," Gundy continued. " Well that's what happens in college athletics and as Jenny said, she's exactly right, it's just on the bigger stage where people can voice their opinion.

"And in most cases, the people that are negative and voicing their opinions are the same ones that can’t pay their own bills. They’re not taking care of themselves, they’re not taking care of their own family. They're not taking care of their own job, but they have an obligation to speak out and complain about others because it makes 'em feel better. But then in the end when they go to bed at night they're the same failure that they were before they said anything negative about anybody else."

Gundy must have heard from some more fans because on Tuesday night he issued a much more brief apology for his remarks.

Oklahoma State, which has lost six straight games, plays TCU this Saturday at 7pm on FS1.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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