bobby reid

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Larry Fedora says he's looking to get backup quarterback Bobby Reid into games.

The Cowboys worked during the offseason on developing plays involving quarterback Zac Robinson but now Robinson has taken over as the starter.

Fedora says with all the time invested in creating those plays he wants to use them.

Reid played six snaps as a wideout in the win over Texas Tech.
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- A newspaper columnist for The Oklahoman on Tuesday defended her reporting on a story that prompted a tirade by Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy.

Jenni Carlson, in a column on the front page, maintained the accuracy of an earlier column critical of the Cowboys' former starting quarterback.

"I will not stand on the sidelines and allow someone to attack my credibility," she said.

Carlson's column Saturday suggested Bobby Reid's demotion was a result of his attitude more than his ineffective play. It stated that Reid, who lost his starting job two games ago, had not always handled his nerves well and his slow starts put the Cowboys in some early holes, including some they dug out of with Reid "wielding the biggest shovel."

It also called Reid the "most talented quarterback" on the team and indicated Reid was "nicked in some games and sat it out instead of gutting it out." Following Oklahoma State's 49-45 win over Texas Tech, Gundy used his postgame news conference to berate Carlson and left the room without taking questions.

On Saturday, Gundy called three-fourths of the column "fiction." During Gundy's news conference Monday, Carlson asked the coach to point out what he thought were factual errors.

"I don't have to," Gundy said.

Carlson asked again, and Gundy said, "I don't have to. I'd rather just let it go."

Carlson said in her Tuesday column that she would like to do the same, had Gundy not questioned her credibility.

"I feel as adamant about the facts in that column as Gundy did in his belief that his player shouldn't have been so scrutinized," she said.

The Oklahoma City newspaper has stood behind the content of the piece and the columnist who wrote it.

Gundy said Monday he hopes that the fallout from his screaming defense of Reid does not overshadow the Cowboys' upcoming game against Sam Houston State the way it obscured their win to start Big 12 play.

Gundy's 31/2-minute speech spread quickly over the Internet, with video Web site YouTube recording more than 75,000 views of the video.

"It just happened because of my feelings for the team and the players and I just felt like it wasn't the right thing," Gundy said. "I certainly didn't do it to receive recognition and I certainly don't want it to take away from this upcoming game like it unfortunately took away from the last game for the team."

The situation has drawn more attention than the result of the game, which included more than 1,300 yards of offense and Tech's Graham Harrell throwing for the fourth-highest total in major college football history.

"I thought it was more important that somebody stand up for a player who couldn't stand up for himself," Gundy said.

Football Writers Association of America president Mike Griffith called Gundy's behavior "completely inappropriate" and suggested the matter "could have been handled in a more private and appropriate matter."

The Association for Women in Sports Media said Monday night that Gundy handled the situation in an "unprofessional manner," and while he has a right to his opinion "his decision to air his objections in the form of a personal attack shows a lack of respect for all journalists."

Gundy said his secretaries had informed him he was getting numerous e-mails and that "the phone won't stop ringing."

"The only thing that matters to me is what I thought was right, and whatever I thought was right is what I said. Other than that, I just have to let it go," Gundy said. "I don't say things for people to disagree or agree with me. I say them if I think they're right."

Gundy said the Cowboys (2-2, 1-0 Big 12), who lost two weeks ago at Troy, needed to focus on Sam Houston State (3-1) because "we're not good enough to overlook anybody." The Bearkats of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) feature former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar.

"They're doing a lot of things on offense to give people some problems," said Gundy, whose team allowed a school-record 718 yards of total offense against the Red Raiders.

Gundy said Zac Robinson, who replaced Reid, could have been more accurate on some throws in the third quarter but was overall "pretty good." Robinson threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 116 yards and a score in his second start.

Reid lined up as a wide receiver for a handful of plays as part of a scheme Gundy said was developed last week. Reid didn't play the previous week in the 41-23 loss at Troy.

"Bobby went through a difficult time because for the first time in his life, he wasn't the guy," Gundy said. "We've had some discussions with him about it. It's no different with Bobby or any other player on any position: If you were a starter and now you're not a starter, you never know when you're going to be back in the game."

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.