At Cotton Bowl, Cox removed from OSU sideline
Published: 1/14/2010 4:22 PM
Last Modified: 1/14/2010 4:30 PM
Sources indicate that during Oklahoma State's Jan. 2 Cotton Bowl meeting with Ole Miss, Perrish Cox was removed from the Cowboy sideline by OSU security personnel.
A day earlier, Cox, an All-American senior cornerback, was suspended by Cowboy coach Mike Gundy for having committed curfew violations while in Dallas for Cotton Bowl preparation.
"I don't know how that happened," Gundy said. "(Cowboys Stadium) is a big place. I guess he found his way in."
It is believed that Cox twice missed curfew, with second of the transgressions apparently having occurred on New Year's Eve.
Cox not only was prohibited from playing against Ole Miss, Gundy explained, but from being on the sideline. Cox was not a passenger on any of the OSU team buses, but somehow gained entrance to the field level and walked to the OSU sideline.
"I just know that guys earned the right to be there and play in that game and be on that sideline," Gundy said. "And when a selfish decision is made – like (Cox) made – they don't deserve to be on that sideline, in our opinion.
"I want Perrish to do well at the next level, but I was extremely disappointed with the decisions he made 48 hours before his last college football game. I think over a period of time, he'll realize that he made a mistake. I hope he'll come back and still want to be a part of Oklahoma State. But that doesn't mean that discipline wasn't necessary at the Cotton Bowl."
"I don't hold grudges on guys like that," Gundy added. "We just enforce the rules."
A finalist for the Thorpe Award, given annually to the top defensive back in college football, Cox led the nation in passes defended (four interceptions, 15 break-ups). The Waco, Texas, native ranks as the Big 12's all-time leader in kickoff-return yards.
– Bill Haisten
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
