Baker Mayfield Says His Apology For Planting A Flag At Ohio State's 50 Yard Line, On A Sincerity Scale Of 1-10, Was a Zero

So yesterday, Baker Mayfield appeared in GQ and made shock waves across the media universe for his out of context comments on Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones. Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to discuss the next most salacious topic in the article: the time he planted a flag at the 50 yard line in Ohio Stadium after beating the Buckeyes on their home field.

What a moment. This guy is the most electric, polarizing figure in all of sports, and that moment was his coming out party on a national stage. Of course, Oklahoma rightfully made him apologize for disrespecting such a highly respected university. But a couple years later, here’s what Baker had to say about that apology:

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GQ – Mayfield says he knew it was a big deal when he heard from the “higher-ups” at Oklahoma that he needed to apologize, which he says was “just jaw-dropping” to him. “I won’t even get into it,” he says. Then he gets into it.

Mayfield begins to recount how he was told that that type of display was not what Oklahoma football was about. As he does, you can see him getting worked up. “Actually we won. That’s what we’re about. I had done so much and worked so hard to play for that school, I was just kinda”—here he pauses to find the words, careful but not too careful—“almost embarrassed for them to tell me to apologize.”

But of course Mayfield did say he was sorry. I begin to ask him how heartfelt that apology actually was, on a scale of 1 to 10, but I can barely get the question out before he answers. “Zero,” he says. He repeats himself forcefully, looking me right in the eye so that I don’t miss the point. “Zero. Absolutely not.”

I love this guy. He’s such a straight shooter. Because the entire world knew this was a bullshit apology, and he’s just the only QB real enough to come out and say it. Sure, it’s a couple years later. But he was in college, he was clearly told he had to do it. Now that he’s in the pros, he’s all him. Slinging his dong around on the field. Starring down Hue Jackson. Breaking necks and cashing checks. All without any apology. The amount of swagger that Baker currently has is literally off the charts. And it’s just so ironic that his first big-time “Baker Move” happened when he punked THE entire state of Ohio, the place where he is now King.

Baker thinks it’s blown over now though:

Then the moment cools and the storm passes. “Which might hurt some Ohio fans’ feelings,” he says. “But I think we’re all good now.”

100000%. I was so pissed when he did this — but I will say, I wasn’t mad at Baker. I was mad at the Buckeyes for allowing him to do it. If you don’t want someone to plant a flag at your 50 yard line, beat them. That game SUCKED. And I know (some) Buckeye fans are rather obnoxious, and if we’re going to talk trash, we need to be ready to take whatever comes when we lose. It truly is a national holiday for 99% of the country every time the Buckeyes lose a football game.

But yeah, Baker is right. I think we’re all good now. No hard feelings at all for the flag plant. He is the King of Cleveland now — he can do whatever he wants and his past is completely absolved in my mind. I just hope when we beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh on December 1st, he takes a big old Browns flag and plants it right on the 50 yard line of Heinz Field. Never change 6, never change.