The Texas Longhorns’ 24-23 comeback win over Ohio State should have been the story of the week. Instead, Arch Manning, Steve Sarkisian and ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe became the center of a controversy that kept growing after the final whistle.
Manning drew backlash Monday after laughing about an AI-generated video that altered Sarkisian’s abrupt postgame interaction with Rowe to show the Texas coach slapping her. Manning called the fake clip “hilarious” before apologizing Tuesday.
Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wolken believes Manning deserved criticism for the moment. But he also made it clear he doesn’t believe the quarterback should be carrying all of the blame.
His larger issue starts with Sarkisian.
Dan Wolken Puts Arch Manning Controversy Back on Steve Sarkisian
The original moment happened shortly after Texas completed a 20-point fourth-quarter comeback against No. 1 Ohio State.
Rowe approached Sarkisian for ESPN’s customary postgame interview, but the Texas coach didn’t stick around. Instead, he yelled, “Texas Fight, Hook ’em!” and hurried away before Rowe could conduct the interview.
Rowe looked visibly frustrated.
Wolken argued that none of what followed happens if Sarkisian handles that moment differently.
“Because we would not be here if Sarkisian simply acted like a normal human being Saturday night,” Wolken wrote. “There was no reason for Sarkisian to bigfoot Rowe in the postgame scramble.”
Sarkisian had also missed his scheduled halftime interview with ESPN’s Laura Rutledge because of technical problems. Rutledge later explained that Sarkisian had waited while ESPN dealt with the issue before needing to leave for the locker room.
Wolken acknowledged that frustration was understandable. His problem was with what Sarkisian did later with Rowe.
He called the coach’s postgame behavior “disrespectful and immature” and argued it trickled down to the Texas fanbase and locker room.
That became evident when the altered video began circulating online.
Arch Manning Apologizes After Holly Rowe AI Video Comment
Manning was asked by reporters on Monday whether he’d seen social-media edits celebrating Texas’ win. He willingly brought up the AI video on his own.
“I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview,” Manning said. “Y’all seen that one? That’s a good one … of him slapping Holly Rowe. It’s hilarious.”
The video wasn’t real. Far from it. It used the ending of Sarkisian’s actual interaction with Rowe and altered it to depict the coach knocking her down with a slap before running away.
Manning apologized the following day.
“In my press conference yesterday, I made an insensitive comment about an AI video,” Manning wrote on Instagram. “There is nothing funny about it.”
Manning added that he knew his words were hurtful, apologized directly to Rowe and said he needed “to do better” moving forward.
Rowe later accepted the apology and said the two had spoken privately.
For Wolken, though, Manning’s apology didn’t settle the larger issue.
“But where’s Sarkisian’s apology?” Wolken wrote.
He argued that teams take on the personality of their head coach and pointed to Sarkisian’s previous public confrontations as part of a larger concern. Wolken ultimately described the environment that helped produce Monday’s moment as an “organizational problem.”
Manning, 22, is still learning how to handle being one of college football’s biggest stars, and Wolken wrote that he deserves some grace after apologizing.
But it was obvious the Yahoo Sports writer wasn’t willing to let the head coach escape the discussion.
Texas’ Steve Sarkisian Takes Heat After Arch Manning’s Holly Rowe Apology