I hadn't read the article nor had I seen the Coach's response until reading Dodd's article today. Thus, I went back, and read the article itself. I had my own opinions on the article but held onto those until I saw the Coach's response. I then used the YouTube Link to see Ms. Carlson's response as well as that of her editor. As an outsider, and someone that knows absolutely nothing about the columnist(s) or Coach Gundy, I can make the following statements with no bias at all.
Ms. Carlson based nearly the entire article on "rumored to be" and "behind the scene grumblings" as her insight into why the Reid kid was benched. She never gave any factual evidence or credibility to this young man actually transferring from OSU for any reason, much less because of a more experienced or better equipped starter in front of him.
To her credit, Ms. Carlson did recite an interview that Mr. Reid had given about getting nervous before a game; any and every game he has ever played. Believe it or not, this is quite common amongst young athletes playing in front of 40,000 plus fans. Ms. Carlson also indicated that Mr. Reid was laughing on the sideline late in the game of an embarassing loss. This was not a good move by the young man and something he undoubtedly regrets but at that stage of the ball game, it was over. The only other presumable fact is that Mr. Reid's Mother was feeding him his boxed dinner before the bus ride home. I wasn't there but even if I was, I still couldn't comment on the emotions Mr. Reid or his Mother were dealing with at that time. I don't know the circumstances that surrounded the situation; nor does Ms. Carlson. Perhaps the Mother is the one that is more upset that her star son isn't in the limelight right now. Maybe he didn't feel like eating and his Mother was doing all she could to assist, or make him eat. The young man is a student athlete that is still very young.
As for Coach Gundy, his ranting and yelling accomplishes very little other than to put his actions on pedestal rather than his message; and that is very unfortunate. His message is a good one and should be shared. That message is that if you don't have the absolute facts, don't print the material in the Sports Section of the Newspaper. There is likely a gossip section which is where Ms. Carlson's article belongs. His message was to have some compassion and understanding for a young man that is going through a difficult time. He too thought he would be the starter right up to game time but the situation or circumstances changed. The Coach understands that this young man is at a cross roads that could easily allow him to give up or transfer. And rarely do either of those options work out best for the young man. Unfortunately a good portion of Coach Gundy's speech is lost in the yelling and tyranical actions.
And last, but not least is Mr. Dodd. His defense of this poorly written and even more poorly researched article is very saddening. This entry level sports writer from Stillwater, OK does a half witted job and Mr. Dodd supports her efforts. He then goes so far as to say that he and his peers have the pen and thus the power. He is sadly mistaken and as readers, we have the power.
If I lived in Oklahoma, I would make certain that anyone I had any influence with canceled their subscription to this paper. I would make certain that any advertising I did with this paper ceased immediately. The pen pales to the power of the dollar.
As for Mr. Dodd, this site is free and I will now only open his articles to get to the reader response. And that will only happen when I am extremely bored.