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 Taylorโ a Penn State icon who became the head coach at OSU this past seasonโ announced their retirements from active competition at the same time.
But Gilman suggested that there was some trouble in paradise.
โTHERE WERE ISSUESโ
Hereโs what Gilman said about why he left Oklahoma State on the Baschamania Podcast with Justin Basch late Thursday morning.
โThe decision in the first place (to go on staff at Oklahoma State)…was fastโฆand thatโs probably the genesis of everything,โ he said. โRight when we got down here, it seemed like, there were issues.โ
Gilman made it clear that he wasnโt blaming one specific person.
โWere (the issues) with me? Were they with the staff? I think that everybody is at fault,โ he said. โIโm not going to point fingersโฆI think that it was mutual.โ
Gilman also said that there were โno hard feelings.โ
โYou can have a disagreement and move on, and still be fine,โ he said.
NOT DONE YET?
Although Gilman is retired as a competitor for now, he might not be forever.
โIโve had those conversations (regarding competing and coaching) with Coach Cody and Coach Cael, and theyโre open and supportive of anything,โ he said. โIf I want to just do the coaching thingโฆgreat, or if I want to jump back on the mat and compete, thatโs awesome too.โ
Regardless of whether Gilman ever wrestles competitively again or not, heโs 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 wasnโt sure heโd have a chance to come back even if he wanted to.
โThat door opened back up and I wasnโt sure it was ever going toโฆThey opened that door back up and Iโm not going to let them down again.โ
