Oklahoma Coach Cale Gundy Resigns After Reading 'Shameful' Word from Player's iPad

Oklahoma wide receivers coach Cale Gundy announced his resignation after reading a "shameful and hurtful" word displayed on a player's iPad during a team meeting last week.

Gundy, who had served as an assistant coach at his alma mater since 1999, released a statement detailing the incident late Sunday night:

"It's with sadness that I accept Coach Gundy's resignation. He's dedicated more than half his life to Oklahoma Football and has served our program and university well," coach Brent Venables said in a statement. "We're thankful for that commitment. We also acknowledge that in stepping aside he's placed the program and the welfare of our student-athletes first. In coaching and in life, we're all accountable for our actions and the resulting outcomes."

Venables said in a subsequent statement on Monday that Gundy read a "racially charged word that is objectionable to everyone" out loud multiple times:

Venables announced L'Damian Washington will replace Gundy as wide receivers coach on an interim basis.

According to the statement released by Gundy, he picked up the player's iPad after noticing he was distracted in the film session and then read a message aloud to the room. The message included an undisclosed word, which he read verbatim.

Gundy said he "did not even realize" what he was reading until the words came out of his mouth.

Joe Mixon, who played under Gundy during his time at Oklahoma, released a lengthy statement defending the coach early Monday morning. The now-Cincinnati Bengals running back said Gundy never displayed any form of racism during his time in Norman.

“I know racists,” Mixon said in the statement. “I have witnessed both obvious and discreet forms of racism and have known and detested even more actual racist. Coach Gundy is the farthest thing from this type of person. I spent every day for the 1,000 days I was in Norman with him. And I never saw anything that would lead anyone to believe this or think this."

Gabe Ikard of SiriusXM reported speaking to multiple Oklahoma players who said a "vast majority" of the team wanted Gundy to stay on. However, in the aftermath, Gundy felt it was best for him to walk away from the program.