Alfred Williams, a former All-American linebacker who captained University of Colorado’s national championship team in 1990, has demanded an apology from Mike Gundy after accusing the longtime Oklahoma State coach of calling him the N-word during a 1989 game when Gundy was a quarterback for the Stillwater school.
Williams, who went on to win two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos during a nine-year NFL career, recounted the incident in an interview with the Oklahoman published on Wednesday night.
“I remember that it was the first time that the University of Colorado beat Oklahoma State while I was there,” Williams told the Oklahoma City newspaper. “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.”
Williams, 51, is one of several former Colorado players who have accused Gundy of using the racial slur during the 1989 contest.
“I want an apology from him, and I want to see him have some growth,” Williams said. “If he denies that he said [that], I have at least 20 people who will vouch for what happened that day.”
He added: “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, who played for Oklahoma State from 1986 through 1989 and has assumed head coaching duties since 2005, came under fire on Monday for wearing a shirt with the logo of far-right news network OAN. On Tuesday, he formally apologized to his star running back Chuba Hubbard, college football’s leading rusher last year, whose criticism and threat of boycotting the team made national headlines.
The imbroglio prompted Williams to share his memory of Gundy using the N-word during a Tuesday radio appearance, which his former Colorado teammate Tim James corroborated. Gundy denied the accusation that same day, leading to to Williams’ renewal on Wednesday.
The 52-year-old coach has spoken of his admiration of OAN in the past. In April, he praised the way the network, which has called Black Lives Matter “a farce” and recycles conspiracy theories, had covered the Covid-19 pandemic.
