Former Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel was charged Friday in Camden County with a class B misdemeanor stemming from a July 7, 2025, arrest, after court documents showed he was the one who waved down the trooper who ended up arresting him.
The probable cause statement says the officer saw Pinkel flagging him down around 11:30 p.m. in the parking lot of a Big O Tires on Bagnell Dam Blvd. in Lake Ozark, where Pinkel was dealing with a blown tire on his car. The trooper reported that the back right tire on the SUV had blown and had been driven on the rim “for a significant distance based on the damage.”
Once the officer began asking questions, the scene shifted. The probable cause statement says there was a “strong odor of an intoxicating beverage emitting from (Pinkel’s) breath and person,” and that Pinkel’s speech was slurred and he was swaying as he talked.
Pinkel first told the trooper he had “just a very small drink” and had stopped drinking three hours before the tire blew. He later said he had “like two drinks” and that his last drink was two hours earlier.
The trooper then put him through multiple field sobriety tests, and the probable cause statement says Pinkel could not recite the alphabet starting with E and stopping at R, and also could not count backward from 78 to 62. The officer also noted “lack of smooth pursuit” when Pinkel was asked to follow the trooper’s finger with his eyes.
A preliminary breath test registered a blood alcohol concentration of 0.128%, above Missouri’s legal limit of 0.08%. Pinkel was arrested, taken to Camden County jail, and later released.
Pinkel is 74 and coached Missouri from 2001-15, leading the Tigers to multiple Big 12 North and SEC East division titles. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
This was not his first DWI case. Pinkel previously pleaded guilty to a DWI in Boone County after a Nov. 16, 2011, arrest.
Court documents say Pinkel has been summoned to appear in Camden County on July 28, 2026, to plead to the charge.
In Other News...
Thunder May Have Found Another Undrafted Name Fans Need To Watch
After using the 2026 NBA Draft to add Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz and Otega Oweh, the Thunder kept working the edges of the roster by bringing in seven undrafted free agents for Summer League. It is the kind of move Oklahoma City has made a habit of making, loading up on young talent and giving itself more chances to uncover a useful piece when the games get a little more open and the evaluations get a little messier.
The group includes Josh Dix, Nate Johnson, Lamar Wilkerson, Sam Alexis, Elijah Mahi, Bryce Harris and Christoph Tilly, with Dix already standing out as more than just a camp body. The Thunder tend to find value in players who can fill a lane and survive in their system, and this collection has enough shooting and developmental upside to make one name in particular worth tracking once the summer games start. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Fans Have One New Reason To Hate The West Again
The Western Conference already gives Oklahoma City plenty to navigate, but the latest buzz out of Golden State adds another layer to an already crowded path. A report from Kevin OConnor of Yahoo Sports has the Warriors interested in a major roster shakeup, one that would put even more star power around the core of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green and instantly change the tone of any future matchup out West.
For Thunder fans, the idea matters less as rumor mill entertainment and more as a reminder that the conference never really gets easier. Oklahoma City would still have its own case as one of the leagues top teams, but a reloaded Warriors group would only raise the degree of difficulty in the chase for a title, and it is the kind of speculative storyline that keeps hanging over the West until the offseason settles it. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Face Tough Kenrich Williams Call As Familiar Squeeze Hits
Kenrich Williams has been part of the Thunders fabric for long enough that this latest roster question carries more weight than a typical end-of-summer decision. Once a steady, low-maintenance piece in Oklahoma Citys rotation, the 31-year-old saw his role shrink last season as the Thunder leaned harder into their young core and tighter rotation, leaving the front office to weigh how much on-court value he still provides against the realities of a roster that keeps getting more expensive.
That calculus has only gotten harder with major extensions looming for key players, which means even familiar veterans can become part of the squeeze. Williams has long been viewed as the kind of connector the Thunder like to keep around, but the organization now has to balance sentiment, depth and future cap flexibility as it maps out what the next phase of this build will look like. [Read more 🡒]