AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday, in the wake of the 24-23 comeback win over the Ohio State Buckeyes that vaulted the Texas Longhorns to No. 1 in both major polls, Texas quarterback Arch Manning was asked about his social media consumption of post-game edits posted to Twitter and Tiktok.
“I’ve seen a few AI edits of stuff, but that’s about it,” Manning said. “I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview. Y’all seen that one? That’s a good one of him slapping Holly Rowe.”
Laughter echoed through a room largely full
of male journalists.
“That’s hilarious.”
Manning paused.
“Yeah, no, it’s fake. It’s fake.”
The ugly, reprehensible video was in response to the abbreviated and controversial post-game interview that Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian gave to longtime, well-regarded ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe, saying “That’s Texas fight, hook ‘em,” pre-empting Rowe’s question and sparking a notable eye roll from her as Sarkisian left to sing the school’s alma mater.
On Tuesday, Manning released a statement on Instagram apologizing to Rowe.
“In my press conference yesterday, I made an insensitive comment about an AI video. There is nothing funny about it. It’s easy to say I didn’t mean it, but I know my words and actions were hurtful to a lot of people. I do not take that lightly and am deeply sorry for that,” Manning wrote.
“I specifically want to apologize to Holly Rowe for what she has personally had to deal with because of my comments. I have a ton of respect for her and appreciate her showing me grace in this moment. I need to do better and will be more thoughtful going forward.”
