Notes from the Stoops Presser: In the Wake of the Mixon Tape

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:

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:

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:

Citing a different climate, Stoops said their decision may have been handled differently today:

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:

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 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.