Sports Illustrated announced on Monday that it was publishing a five-part series on the Oklahoma State football program called “The Dirty Game”, starting at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
The series is the result of a comprehensive 10-month investigation into the Oklahoma State University football program. It includes independent and on-the-record interviews with more than 60 former OSU football players who played from 2001 to ’10, as well as current and former OSU football staffers.
Cowboys coach Mike Gundy addressed the matter in this video statement on Monday:
“I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished here, both on and off the field,” said Gundy. “Our goal has always been to take young people from where their parents have gotten them and to make them better over a four or five year period. We’re very proud of that in many ways. So, until further time -- and obviously the university will make that decision -- there’s not any comment that we would have on the Sports Illustrated article.”
The series will run as follows starting Tuesday:
• Part 1: Money: SI finds that OSU used a bonus system orchestrated by an assistant coach whereby players were paid for their performance on the field, with some stars collecting $500 or more per game. In addition, the report finds that OSU boosters and at least two assistant coaches funneled money to players via direct payments and a system of no-show and sham jobs. Some players say they collected more than $10,000 annually in under-the-table payouts.
• Part 2: Academics: Widespread academic misconduct, which included tutors and other OSU personnel completing coursework for players, and professors giving passing grades for little or no work, all in the interest of keeping top players eligible.
• Part 3: Drugs: OSU tolerated and at times enabled recreational drug use, primarily through a specious counseling program that allowed some players to continue to use drugs while avoiding penalties. The school’s drug policy was selectively enforced, with some stars going unpunished despite repeated positive tests.
• Part 4: Sex: OSU’s hostess program, Orange Pride, figured so prominently in the recruitment of prospects that the group more than tripled in size under Miles. Both Miles and Gundy took the unusual step of personally interviewing candidates. Multiple former players and Orange Pride members say that a small subset of the group had sex with recruits, a violation of NCAA rules.
• Part 5: The Fallout: SI finds that many players who were no longer useful to the football program were cast aside, returning to worlds they had hoped to escape. Some have been incarcerated, others live on the streets, many have battled drug abuse and a few have attempted suicide.