Mike Gundy says Gordon won’t sit out for DUI arrest: ‘I’ve probably done that 1,000 times’

Oklahoma State star running back Ollie Gordon II will not miss time after being arrested under suspicion of DUI on June 30, head coach Mike Gundy said Tuesday.

“He’s going to play,” Gundy told ESPN during Big 12 media days in Las Vegas. “I’m going to do what we think is best for Oklahoma State football. And I think it’s best for Ollie to play. If there’s any punishment, it’s making him carry the ball 50 times in the first game.”

According to reports and a probable cause affidavit, the trooper spotted a half-full bottle of vodka and a half-full bottle of tequila while Gordon was stopped for swerving and 82 in a 65 mile-per-hour zone. Gordon is the reigning Big 12 offensive player of the year and won the Doak Walker Award after posting 1,732 rushing yards and 22 total touchdowns in 2023. He released a statement apologizing for his actions Monday.

Gundy said in a round table that to make a decision regarding a punishment for Gordon, he had to do what was best for, “Ollie, our university and our team.”

“Is suspending him for one game really going to matter? I don’t think so. Suspending him for six games maybe? Maybe that’d do it, but then I don’t think that’s fair for everybody else on our team, and I have to take them into consideration,” Gundy said. “Ollie’s a great person that made a mistake.”

“In Oklahoma, the legal limit is 0.08 and Ollie was 0.1, and I looked it up and it was based on body weight. Not to get into the legal side of it, but I thought, really, two or three beers or four — I’m not justifying what Ollie did, I’m telling you what decision I made — well I thought, I’ve probably done that about 1,000 times in my life, and it’s just fine. I got lucky, people get lucky,” Gundy said.

Gundy later clarified his point in a post on X/Twitter.

Announced as a media days attendee prior to news of his arrest, Gordon was made available Tuesday, which Gundy said was a decision left up to Gordon and part of making sure he learns from the situation.

“We can say these guys aren’t employees but they really are employees. These guys get paid a lot of money, which is fine, but…they have to be able to face the music and own up to things,” Gundy said. “I told him, ‘We’re going to take you [to Big 12 media days], we’re not going to shield you from any questions, you’re going to face everybody there, and you need to give the answer that you think is best for you. And I hope that you can learn from this and…help you for the rest of your life.”

Media days will continue Wednesday with appearances from remaining schools, including Colorado’s Deion Sanders, Baylor’s Dave Aranda and Houston’s Willie Fritz.

Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.