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The video of the infamous incident where Joe Mixon punched a woman in the head at a Campus Corner restaurant was released late last Friday afternoon. The fallout since has been widespread—the video was picked up by national news outlets, and it stoked a lot of heated conversation amongst fans and media alike.
Bob Stoops took to the podium today to field questions for the very first time since the video was released. Unsurprisingly, every question involved Joe Mixon.
Here are Bob’s opening comments:
Here's Bob Stoops' opening statement on the Joe Mixon tape. #Sooners pic.twitter.com/KZYKddLcC7
— Nate Feken (@TheGreat_Nate) December 21, 2016
Immediately after the incident, head coach Bob Stoops, president David Boren, and athletic director Joe Castiglione had a decision to make: to keep Mixon or to cut ties with him? Mixon was apparently offered a full release:
Stoops said Mixon was given a release to transfer anywhere he wanted.
— Matt Ravis (@mattravis) December 21, 2016
Obviously, Mixon decided to stay, and the Oklahoma administration elected to keep him. The punishment — redshirting Mixon and not allowing him to be a part of the team for a season — was Stoops’ recommendation:
The Mixon redshirt was based on Stoops's recommendation.
— Matt Ravis (@mattravis) December 21, 2016
Citing a different climate, Stoops said their decision may have been handled differently today:
Stoops says it's fair to say he would have come to a different conclusion about Mixon. Says now dismissal is the way it's handled now.
— Matt Ravis (@mattravis) December 21, 2016
Stoops: thought 'we had a significant, strong penalty.' Now, 2.5 years later, zero tolerance.#Sooners
— Matt Ravis (@mattravis) December 21, 2016
Stoops believed the video would come out just weeks after the incident.
A statement or apology from Mixon was never issued after the incident, apparently due to ongoing legal and civil obstacles. Stoops said, however, that a statement might come sooner rather than later:
Stoops: Joe 'wants to apologize,' will likely be coming soon, mitigating civil suit circumstances.
— Matt Ravis (@mattravis) December 21, 2016
It was certainly a difficult presser for Stoops to navigate. Instead of his normal bullish and stubborn self, Stoops seemed resigned. His typical guardedness instead turned into candor, and many of his responses seemed less pre-fashioned.
When faced with the most difficult question of the day — whether or not keeping Mixon condones violence against women — Stoops answered candidly:
Stoops says keeping Mixon condones violence against women to some degree, regrets it.#Sooners
— Matt Ravis (@mattravis) December 21, 2016
Stoops is under the biggest scrutiny of his career over his (and his administration’s) handling of this incident. We’ll keep you updated on Bob’s (and others’) media appearances in the coming weeks.