Canada’s biggest NCAA football star Chuba Hubbard has taken a political stance against his own bench boss.
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy was recently photographed wearing a One America News (OAN) t-shirt. Launched in 2013, OAN is a far-right news network that openly supports United States President Donald Trump. The organization has been criticized for reporting falsehoods and perpetuating conspiracy theories in its programming.
After seeing the picture, Hubbard wrote on Twitter:
“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.”
Gundy has been the head coach at Oklahoma State since 2005, posting a record of 129-64. The Cowboys went 8-4 in 2019 before dropping the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl to Texas A&M University by a score of 24-21.
Hubbard enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom during the 2019 season, rushing for an NCAA-leading 2,094 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was named the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year, a finalist for the Doak Walker Award and finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
The native of Sherwood Park, Alta. decided to forgo the 2020 NFL draft and return to school for his redshirt junior season. He is currently scheduled to graduate in December 2020, at which point he could shift his focus to the 2021 NFL draft.
Fellow Canadian, Cowboys linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga quickly Tweeted his support of Hubbard: “I stand with him!” The Calgary native won the 2019 OSU Leslie O’Neal Award as the team’s defensive MVP. He also serves as one of the Cowboys’ captains.
Ogbongbemiga is entering his redshirt senior season as has a legitimate shot at making the NFL in 2021. He posted 100 total tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and five sacks last year, checking in at six-foot-two and 231 pounds.
Oklahoma State University president Burns Hargis responded to Hubbard’s displeasure with his own Tweet:
“I hear and respect the concerns expressed by our Black student-athletes. This is a time for unity of purpose to confront racial inequities and injustice. We will not tolerate insensitive behavior by anyone at Oklahoma State.”
Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder issued a statement: “This afternoon has been very disturbing. The tweets from the current and former players are of grave concern.”
The Black Live Matter movement has been most prominent in the United States after the senseless murder of George Floyd, which happened in Minneapolis on Monday, May 25. White police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes while he was handcuffed and restrained on the ground. The 46-year-old black man told Chauvin repeatedly: “I can’t breathe.” However, the pleas were ignored by Chauvin and it resulted in Floyd losing his life.
Following the death, Hubbard Tweeted: “If you support us on the field, but can’t support us now… BEAT IT! BRING CHANGE!
Gundy held a team meeting with Hubbard and the rest of the Oklahoma State players who were on campus in Stillwater Monday evening.