Thomas Gilman is back with Penn State wrestling, and although PSU fans are happy about this, many are also wondering why he left Oklahoma State.
Gilman and Stillwater seemed like a marriage that made sense.
After all, both he and David Taylor— a Penn State icon who became the head coach at OSU this past season— announced their retirements from active competition at the same time.
But Gilman suggested that there was some trouble in paradise.
‘THERE WERE ISSUES’
Here’s what Gilman said about why he left Oklahoma State on the Baschamania Podcast with Justin Basch late Thursday morning.
“The decision in the first place (to go on staff at Oklahoma State)…was fast…and that’s probably the genesis of everything,” he said. “Right when we got down here, it seemed like, there were issues.”
Gilman made it clear that he wasn’t blaming one specific person.
“Were (the issues) with me? Were they with the staff? I think that everybody is at fault,” he said. “I’m not going to point fingers…I think that it was mutual.”
Gilman also said that there were “no hard feelings.”
“You can have a disagreement and move on, and still be fine,” he said.
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Although Gilman is retired as a competitor for now, he might not be forever.
“I’ve had those conversations (regarding competing and coaching) with Coach Cody and Coach Cael, and they’re open and supportive of anything,” he said. “If I want to just do the coaching thing…great, or if I want to jump back on the mat and compete, that’s awesome too.”
Regardless of whether Gilman ever wrestles competitively again or not, he’s had an outstanding career.
He was a national runner-up at Iowa but his biggest success came at the freestyle level.
At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Gilman won a bronze medal at 57 KG.
A few months later in Oslo, he won a World Championship at the same weight.
When Gilman left NLWC and Penn State wrestling initially, he wasn’t sure he’d have a chance to come back even if he wanted to.
“That door opened back up and I wasn’t sure it was ever going to…They opened that door back up and I’m not going to let them down again.”
