Alfred Williams, a former star linebacker at Colorado, wants an apology from Mike Gundy after renewing an allegation that the Oklahoma State coach called him the N-word in 1989 when he was a player for the Cowboys.
Williams recounted the incident during an interview Wednesday night with The Oklahoman. Williams told the paper that he doesn’t want Gundy to be fired, but he does want an apology and to see “some growth.”
Williams, 51, was one of multiple Colorado players who said in 1989 that Gundy, then a quarterback at Oklahoma State, used the racial slur during the Buffaloes’ 41-17 victory over the Cowboys. Gundy denied the allegations after the game.
“I remember that it was the first time that the University of Colorado beat Oklahoma State while I was there,” Williams told The Oklahoman on Wednesday night. “It was a big win. It really was a big win.
“And I remember Mike Gundy called me the N-word. That’s what I remember.”
Oklahoma State denied to comment Wednesday when contacted by The Oklahoman, and Gundy has not addressed Williams’ latest allegation. ESPN also has contacted Oklahoma State seeking comment.
Williams, an All-American and Butkus Award winner at Colorado and nine-year NFL veteran, told The Oklahoman that he had not seen Gundy’s 1989 denial until Wednesday night.
“I want an apology from him and I want to see him have some growth,” Williams told the paper. “If he denies that he said (that), I have at least 20 people who will vouch for what happened that day.
“I’m a little upset, because after 31 years I finally saw the story published in your papers out in Oklahoma. That was the first time I saw some of the responses to what I said.”
Gundy, 52, has come under fire recently after a photo posted to social media showed the Cowboys coach wearing a T-shirt from OAN (One America Network).
The photo prompted a harsh response from Cowboys star running back Chuba Hubbard, who called out Gundy on social media. Gundy has since apologized for the “pain and discomfort” he caused his players and others for wearing the shirt.
OAN is a far-right news network, often cited by President Donald Trump, that has tried to position itself as a place for a pro-Trump audience and recently criticized the Black Lives Matter movement.
