It was supposed to be a funny Snapchat.
While Carter LaValley watched Oklahoma warm up before it faced off against TCU last month, he happened to shoot an errant pass from Sooners QB Baker Mayfield that hit a TCU player in the head.
He later posted the video on his Twitter account under the handle @carterlavalley.
But LaValley had no intention of painting Mayfield in a bad light, he told the Star-Telegram in a Twitter message.
He said he's actually a fan of the Heisman hopeful and that he's worked with Baker at camps.
"He gives all athletes hope, no matter what sport, because he came out of high school with a few offers but put his mind to what he believed in and accomplished it," LaValley said.
But the video quickly gained popularity, and TCU head coach Gary Patterson even addressed the incident in a press conference this week. Patterson said he blames Mayfield's actions on behaviors he learned while playing for Texas Tech. He also denied OU head coach Lincoln Riley's claims that TCU purposefully ran through their warmups.
On Friday, the video disappeared from LaValley's Twitter account and the rumors began to fly.
One account reposted the video and claimed that Oklahoma forced LaValley to remove his video.
But LaValley denies these allegations and says he has not had any contact with the university.
Instead, he said that he wanted to help protect Baker's image.
"People don't understand that to play football, especially at his level, you've got to be a dawg. Bake is an absolute dawg," LaValley said. "Sometimes those emotions aren't always the best to show, but that's the mentality you've got to have."
