Callahan: OU scene 'out of control'
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Here is a partial transcript of Bill Callahan's comments to the media on Monday, regarding Darren DeLone's altercation with an OU Ruf/Nek and his profane statement after the game. Reporter questions and editor's notes are in italics.
"I'm an emotional guy and I'm a competitive coach. On the field I stick up for my players, and I don't think any team should be subjected to the type of treatment we were subjected to in that particular contest. Number one, in the pregame warmup, there are these guys with guns -- I don't know how many, 20 of them or so right in the warmup area. They're shooting off blanks, and the smoke from those guns goes right into the warmup where our offensive line and defensive line warm up."
Callahan pointed out that a small area separates fans from players at Owen Field. He continues:
"To have these students, with these guns, and they continually blow them off . . . To have them do that during a warmup is unsafe. Because these are 300-pound linemen who are getting ready to get active in a physical engagement with an opponent. And you know, those warmups are awfully physical. They're very explosive. And you get down to that wall area down in that end zone, and there are so many people down there that it seems inevitable that something is going to happen.
"What happens is, these guns keep going off in the middle of your warmup, and it's distracting, I understand that. But there's a safety issue here. And the issue is, these young kids . . . I have a lot of empathy for the young man who got injured . . . But the safety for those young kids is vital. And for somebody of game management or athletic administration to not recognize that -- it's astounding to me that these kids can be right in the midst of a warmup between these 300-pound-plus linemen, and then, consequently, somebody gets injured. And afterwards, there's an investigation into it. I look at it hard, and I feel really, really terrible for the young man who got hurt, and I think it's unnecessary that they're right there on the borderline of the end line where the team warms up at.
"I guess it's a tradition. I talked to the AD after the game, and he said they've been doing it for 40-some years. So who am I to say anything about a tradition of 40-some years? But, things happen. And when people get injured like that, it's a severe case to take a real internal look at your pregame management and your field management . . . I just don't think it's appropriate to have all these young men with guns being fired off in the midst of a pregame warmup as (players) are getting ready for college competition. It was the first time I've experienced it because I was down in that end zone just prior to our offensive line and defensive line getting together. As I was looking at it, I just thought, 'Boy, these young kids are having a heck of a time shooting off these guns.'
"And then toward the end of the game, after the third and fourth-down situations where passes are being thrown . . . I called a timeout on fourth down to try to settle our guys down and hopefully prevent another score, and there's this barrage of oranges that come flying out of the stands. Then, obviously, we make a stop on fourth down to prevent another score, and then there's a continual barrage. To me, I'm emotional. I get a little emotional about that. And I agree, I probably could've used a better choice of words. But I am distressed when people are shooting off guns and throwing fruit at our players. I just have a hard time with that. It's a part of the game, I guess. I'm trying to learn this the best I can. I just think it's out of control.
"We're doing our best to compete. And I thought are kids competed very hard in that game. And obviously, Oklahoma's a great football team. But I didn't think it had to come to that, I really don't."
So, DeLone ran into the kid? Did he head-butt the kid and throw him into the wall, as the report said?
"I didn't see it, so I can't comment on that."
He did say two Nebraska assistants saw the incident.
"They did address it in the postgame investigation. I don't know what came out of that investigation down in Oklahoma. But, you know, let me just reiterate: I feel terrible that a young man had to get hurt down there. And number two, the safety issue concerning the warmup area of where the visitor is trying to get prepared for a contest of athletic competition . . . I don't know how you justify that. I don't know how you can have young kids down there. They're an enthusiastic group, and I can appreciate that. But there's danger right there. I mean, these are men of 300-pounds-plus, and they're going at a different speed and at a very high level. They're very strong, very physical. They're big, big athletes, and to have a young man with a pop gun in his hand be subjected to running into or colliding with one of these big fellas, I have an issue with that. And the issue is safety.
"I know I wouldn't want to put my son or daughter out there where these guys are warming up, because I wouldn't want them to get hurt. There's a very small, limited area -- a very confined area -- that we're restricted to. So, you know, we're trying to do the best we can with the room that's available. To compound that with additional (students) in that particular area, it doesn't serve their students very well. They're putting them in harm's way. I would strongly suggest removing that or positioning them differently.
"I'm not trying to take away from their tradition. Because obviously, from what the athletic director told me, it's a great tradition they've been carrying on for 40 years. But I really think they can adjust that tradition."
Is there an inordinate about of heckling from that group?
"I call it enthusiasm. That's enthusiasm, and those are young kids, and they're proud of their university, and they've got their popguns and it's kind of a kick, really. I just think someone's going to get hurt, and that's what I told their AD down there. But who am I to mess with tradition?"
Is there anything legally facing DeLone?
"Not that I'm aware of. I'm still getting information and I'm still gathering information. And as soon as I get all of the facts and as soon as this is put to rest, and completed, I'll be more than happy to share it with the media and the fans. But there are still some ongoing questions of concern that are still transpiring."
The Coliseum in Oakland has reputation for being a bit rough, but how about those Oranges?
"I've never seen it before (laughing)."
"We were involved in a Monday night game in Denver one year where we were coming off of the field and the entire Raider team was pelted by snowballs, which created an incident. But I've never seen anything like this."
"To have all this stuff go on, I've never seen anything like it before."
Callahan said he didn't know that fans threw oranges.
"We have the greatest fans in America here. Comparing what I've seen here with what I saw down in Oklahoma . . . Our fans, they applaud opponents when they come off of the field. That was just an unusual environment for me because we have the greatest fans in the country, and their sportsmanship is superb in every respect, and I applaud that. To be subjected to what our team went through down there, I think it's uncalled for. So I got a little excited."
Will you contact the Big 12 office?
"I don't know. I don't know what they do. I don't know what the protocol is. I really don't know. All I can express is my opinion of what transpired down there. I don't know if anything will be done. I really don't. I guess they've been doing it for 40 years. So I don't know. I really don't."
-- Transcribed by Steven M. Sipple
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