Oklahoma Sooners Football: Baker Mayfield on planting the flag: “I wouldn’t take it back”

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield joined The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday to discuss his performance against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Unsurprisingly, Rich opened the segment by asking Mayfield about planting the flag at midfield in Columbus. When asked why he apologized for planting the flag, Mayfield said he caught a lot of flak for it but if he were to go back in time he wouldn’t do anything differently. He also added that he’s caught more flak from Oklahoma fans who were upset that he apologized. Here’s the whole interview:

“There’s a lot of sensitive people in this world in this day and age. I’m going to offend a lot of people. It’s just the nature of the position I’m in. You’ve got to try and stay a little bit level-headed and enjoy the win, but at the same time not tick too many people off.”

“I wouldn’t take it back, but it was meant to be just for our team and a statement for us.” - Baker Mayfield on The Rich Eisen Show

Good for you, Baker! After hearing it from all of the naysayers (I didn’t even think OU would win) for weeks and months, Baker and the Sooners deserved to gloat. He shouldn’t have to apologize for having fun and showing emotion, even if it was at the expense of another school. If Ohio State didn’t want that to happen, they shouldn’t have let him throw for so many yards or convert on so many third downs. I know that the apology probably wasn’t his decision in the first place, but it’s good to have confirmation that he doesn’t truly regret doing what he did. Do you, Baker. Do you.

Most people weren’t offended by the gesture anyway, but I’m guessing someone — whether it was Baker, Lincoln Riley or someone within the administration — wanted to put the whole thing to bed with an apology. The apology, of course, turned out to add fuel to the topic, and now it seems to be the biggest sports story in the country. Some folks say they want to move on from this (which is fine), but I honestly don’t. I’m completely fine with basking in one of the most memorable moments in Oklahoma football history for as long as I possibly can.

The Rich Eisen Show airs daily on AT&T’s Audience Network - Channel 239 - Monday – Friday from 12 – 3 p.m. ET.