No Surprise Here: Media-types Attack Gundy

On Saturday The Oklahoman published a piece by columnist Jenni Carlson about Cowboys' Quarterback Bobby Reid. More specifically, about why she thinks he was benched in favor of Zac Robinson. The column didn't sit well with Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy who had something to say about the column. His chief complaint was that Carlson's column was little more than a smear of a good kid who hadn't been playing as well as the coaches would've liked.

He made a mistake, though, in his tirade by claiming that "three-fourths" of the article was "inaccurate." It wasn't a mistake because Carlson's column was full of truth and facts. It was a mistake because it gave Ms. Carlson exactly the opening she needed to completely avoid the chief criticism of her column. Her response, essentially, was... Inaccuracies? What inaccuracies!? "I really wanted to know, from him, what those inaccuracies were," she says.

I certainly hope that Ms. Carlson is not as dense as she appears. Meanwhile, other columnists and media organizations are rushing to her defense. They're asking for everything from more respect for the media to his firing. More detailed analysis after the jump...

In statements yesterday, both the Football Writers Association of America and The Association for Women in Sports Media spoke out. FWAA President Mike Griffith preached "I consider Coach Gundy's behavior completely inappropriate. It shows a lack of respect for the media..."

The AWSM statement was even more rich. Calling the tirade "unprofessional" they criticized the way he chose to "air his objections in the form of a personal attack" and saying that it "shows a lack of respect for all journalists." So, just to clarify, after Carlson spends an entire newspaper column calling an amateur athlete a mama's boy, the AWSM is concerned about personal attacks?

CBS Sportsline's Dennis Dodd went even farther. He wants Gundy fired for failing to show due deference to the media gods:

Mike Gundy needs to be reprimanded, definitely suspended, probably fined and maybe fired.

If you missed the Oklahoma State coach's outburst Saturday, you missed the mother of all meltdowns. At least the mother of all meltdowns over something as common as a columnist's opinion.

Let's have a look at that "columnist's opinion", shall we?

Carlson starts her column with this:

STILLWATER - Bobby Reid stood near the team charters last Friday night, using his cell phone, eating his boxed meal.

It would've been normal post-game activity but for one thing.

His mother was feeding him chicken.

Which brings us to the quarterback switch-a-roo at Oklahoma State.

She then goes on to explain the connection... or tries to, at least. She awkwardly explicates Oklahoma State's quarterbacking controversy and then says: "Thing is, it may not be as abrupt as it looks. If you believe the rumors and the rumblings, Reid has been pushing coaches that way for quite some time."

Carlson spends the next two paragraphs peddling gossip about Reid's alleged lack of commitment to the team, the three after that are about his nerves, and after three more paragraphs about injuries Carlson writes: "insiders say that the coaches decided to bench Reid early in the week. The bottom line: The switch is less about Robinson's play and more about Reid's attitude."

We never really find out if the "insiders" are the ones who concluded it was about his attitude or if this is where Carlson opinion starts. I'm inclined to believe it's the latter, as her next move is to criticize him for being a team player and not airing his own discontent in the media.

Wait, what?

"The coaches made a decision," Reid told our Mike Baldwin after the Troy game. "I just have to go with it, get better and get back on the field."

There's something to be said for not being a malcontent, but you can almost see Reid shrugging his shoulders as he says those words. Does he have the fire in his belly?

Or does he want to be coddled, babied, perhaps even fed chicken?

I don't know if Ms. Carlson has ever played a team sport and I'd be willing to bet money that she's never been asked to comment in the media about her lack of playing time in a team sport, but Reid's comment is pure class. Even if he's furious, feels wronged, and thinks it's a stupid decision, he's putting the right face on for the press. He's being a team player, he's supporting Robinson, and he's displaying exactly the attitude that coaches wish more athletes had... but this is, apparently, cause for Carlson to take a cheap shot at him.

The last four paragraphs of Carlson's hatchet job are little but fact-barren innuendo and supposition. Does Carlson have a right to her opinion? Of course she does... but she shouldn't be proud of it. Those rushing to her defense should be equally ashamed.

So, to Ms. Carlson, congratulations! You've used the formidable power of the press to emasculate and ridicule an amateur athlete. To Griffith, Dodd, and all the rest clamoring about freedom of the press, professionalism, and respect for the media: it's articles like Carlson's -- and responses like yours to criticism -- that fuel the growing skepticism of the media today.

Update: Keep an eye on this thread at the SportsJournalists.com forums (link via Construda) -- noticeably slanted, but a few of them seem to get the point. Further, Desmond Howard on College Football Live just a few moments ago said something to the effect of "[Carlson] never wrapped it up, she just alluded to some mama's-boy image . . . she must not know many football players. Some of the toughest guys I've played with were mama's boys."