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James Gallogly wants to destroy David Boren…

1:30 PM EST on December 12, 2018

Back in March, when James Gallogly was selected by Oil Overlords to be the next president of the University of Oklahoma,  he had these words to say about "the unique human being" he was replacing – Oklahoma political legend / opportunist David Boren.

That's sweet. Gallogly brings up a good point. It's hard to replace a person like David Boren, especially when you want to destroy him!

In case you missed it, that's the message / warning Gallogly allegedly sent David Boren after the former Governor, Senator and well-connected icon of the Oklahoma establishment openly questioned some of Gallogy's statements about financial challenges.

Via The Norman Transcript:

The relationship between OU President James Gallogly and his predecessor, David Boren, has crumbled amid threats and feuding over the financial status of the university and other issues, according to multiple sources within the university community.

Before he took office, Gallogly was critical of the university's financial status in a June 19 OU board of regents meeting. Boren countered with a letter on June 20 to the Transcript, defending OU's finances and stating a significant part of the university's debt was bonded debt with scheduled payments.

Following the publication of that letter on June 20, Gallogly told a senior OU administrator to deliver a message to Boren: “You tell him that I am the meanest son of a bitch he has ever seen, and if he ever crosses me again, I will destroy him.”

Wow. Those are some tough words! Nothing says "mean son of a bitch" more than threatening to "destroy" a feeble 77-year-old man for writing a letter to the newspaper.

After the Norman Transcript story dropped, Gallogly and other OU officials disputed the report:

University of Oklahoma President James Gallogly has denied ever sending a threatening message to his predecessor David Boren.

Speaking to The Transcript at the OU Board of Regents meeting shortly after a story on the matter broke Tuesday, Gallogly denied telling Boren to never cross him again, and that if he did, he would destroy him.

“I have never threatened David Boren,” Gallogly said. “That is false.”...

Speaking to the Transcript Tuesday, Gallogly said there was a message at that time to Boren to stop reporting incomplete information regarding OU’s finances. In a meeting about that issue, Gallogly said there was some “strong language,” but again denied that he said anything like what has been reported.

“He was informed by the head of the Board of Regents to stop putting out incomplete information,” Gallogly said.

Regardless of what strong language he did or didn't use, you can't blame Gallogly for being upset. He's the only person who should be releasing incomplete, misleading information about the University to the media. Boren definitely broke unwritten protocol.

Gallogly also question why the Transcript ran with the story:

Gallogly also referred to the report as “silly,” and asked a Transcript reporter if they wondered why people were making such accusations now since the event happened six months ago.

“Why does this come up now?” he asked. “Apparently that was just before I took office, why does that come up now. Did you ever ask yourself that? I wonder why they made that up now?”

“Why does this come up now?”

As a guy who has routinely worked with informants and whistleblowers, some of which wait years before coming forward with news tips and accusations, there are lots of possible answers to Gallogly's questions. Here are three possibilities...

1. The informant was worried about being outed as the source, and wanted to let some time pass before coming forward.

2. It took a few months for the informant to realize Gallogly is a petty dick who relies on threats and intimidation to get things done, and released the news in an attempt to expose it.

3. David Boren is still a powerful, beloved and petty figure in Oklahoma political and media circles, and has a large network of supporters that are determined to make Gallogly's tenure at OU absolute hell. This is probably the most likely option.

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