Top College Running Back Chuba Hubbard May Sit Out 2020 Because of Coach Mike Gundy's T-Shirt Choice

Oklahoma State University running back Chuba Hubbard, a 2019 all-American and the nation's top rusher last season, said he may sit out the 2020 season if things don't "change" with his head coach.

Hubbard was referring to a t-shirt that coach Mike Gundy wore on a recent fishing trip, simply known because the photo circulated on social media Monday. Gundy is shown wearing white shirt that says OAN, which stands for One America News, a far-right news outlet often mentioned by President Donald Trump.

Once the photo hit the internet on Monday, Hubbard tweeted he could put his services on hold.

"I will not stand for this," Hubbard wrote Monday afternoon. "This is completely insensitive to everything going on in society, and it's unacceptable."

Hubbard rushed for 2,094 yards last season at OSU, where he was named a first-team all-American and the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He's a junior from Alberta, Canada, who has the support of senior linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga.

This isn't the first time Gundy has been caught in the crosshairs this offseason. Two months ago, as the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) swept the land and forced shutdowns across the country, Gundy said catching coronavirus was like getting the flu, and that a building full of young athletes would power through it.

"We get people that get the flu during the season, we quarantine them, we treat them, we make sure they're healthy, we bring 'em back," Gundy said. "It would be the same thing here, but at some point, we've got to go back to work. We've got to get these guys back in here.

"From what I read, the healthy people can fight this, the antibodies make it better. They're doing some blood transplants now with the people that have already gotten the disease, that have gotten over it that have the antibodies that can fight it. There's a lot of people who can figure this out. May 1's our goal. Don't know if it will happen. Players will come in after that."

After plenty of backlash, Gundy resurfaced a few days later with an apology.

"I have been made aware that comments from my press conference have offended some," Gundy said. "It was never my intention to offend anyone and I apologize. My first priority is and will always be the student-athletes and doing what is best for the program and the university."

During a press conference in April to discuss his comments, he tried to shrug off mainstream media as outlets that skewed the news, and stated he only watched OAN because "they just report the news" without added opinion. He mentioned all this before the May 25 death of George Floyd while in the hands of Minneapolis police. The death sparked national protests over police brutality.

Here's what Gundy said several weeks before the current national situation.

"I tell you what's funny is, I was flipping through stations," Gundy said. "I found one — I don't even know if anybody knows about this — it's called OAN. It's One America News. And it was so refreshing. They just report the news. There's no commentary. There's no opinions on this. There's no left. There's no right. They just reported the news. And I've been watching them the last week, because they're given us the news and given us more information — in my opinion — some of the positives are coming out. So, that was refreshing."

After Floyd's death, Gundy brought his team and coaches together to talk about the death, and he wrote this on Twitter.

"I can't stop thinking about the horrible situation that happened in Minneapolis earlier this week," Gundy tweeted. "I've been at a loss of words to describe the shocking video of George Floyd. My heart and prayers go out to his family. This disgraceful event means we must work harder together everyday to put an end to the mistreatment of black Americans in our country. I'm thankful to be in an environment with Oklahoma State football and our Cowboy Culture where we respect each other. The 200 people in our family understand and appreciate diversity and have compassion for one another. I hope we replace the rage with respect and all come together."

Now there's the OAN shirt, which has his top returning player—who is arguably the best in the country—threatening to sit out the season.

This week could be interesting in Stillwater. Will Gundy backtrack for the shirt? If so, it wouldn't be the first time this spring he's had to backpedal.