Steve Sarkisian, head coach of the Texas Longhorns, apologized after running from a postgame interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe following his team's victory over Ohio State. In a statement before their next game against UTSA, Sarkisian said he should have shown more patience and waited for the interview to conclude. He expressed respect for ESPN and Rowe personally, emphasizing that such moments can cloud better judgment. The incident went viral, leading to AI-generated videos falsely depicting violence, which prompted an apology from quarterback Arch Manning after his initial humorous remarks about them.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On November 19, Steve Sarkisian, head coach of the Texas Longhorns, sparked controversy when he abruptly ended a postgame interview with Holly Rowe from ESPN after his team's dramatic 24-23 victory over Ohio State. Rowe had not even posed her first question before Sarkisian ran off to celebrate with his players following their 21-point comeback against the top-ranked team in the country. In response to criticism, Sarkisian later addressed the incident, saying that if he could go back, "I would have exuded more patience and waited for the interview." He emphasized his respect for ESPN and his long-standing relationship with Rowe dating back to his playing days at BYU.
Written for “Sarkisian Interview Controversy” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian went viral following his team’s miraculous 24-23 comeback against Ohio State this past Saturday after running off from a postgame interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
asserted
Sarkisian → go → Rowe
Sarkisian screamed, "That’s called Texas fight! That’s called Texas fight! Hook ‘em!" before running off back to the locker room to celebrate the victory with his team.
At the time, Rowe hadn’t even asked her first question to him postgame, and she seemed quite upset as she darted out of camera view after Sarkisian ran away.
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Sarkisian → scream → view
Sarkisian addressed the situation ahead of the team’s next scheduled contest against UTSA.
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Sarkisian → address → UTSA
"As it pertains to after the ball game, again there was a delay after I greeted Coach Day in the middle of the field.
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I → pertain → field
There was a delay in the moment, you know, through that delay, I wanted to go celebrate with our team," he said, per On Texas Football.
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he → be → Football
"We just had a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback against the No. 1 team in the country.
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We → have → country
If hindsight’s 20/20, if I could do it all over again, I would have exuded more patience in that moment and sat through and waited for the interview with Holly."
uncertain
I → ’ → Holly
Sarkisian added that he has "a ton of respect for ESPN and Holly" and didn’t mean to let the moment get the better of him.
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moment → add → him
"Holly and I go way back to even my days of playing at BYU, and we’ve got a great relationship.
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we → go → relationship
We know we’re going to have more opportunities with that crew covering us, and we’re looking forward to those opportunities.
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we → know → opportunities
The viral moment was one social media users ran with, creating AI versions in which Sarkisian was seen slapping Rowe before running off the field.
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Sarkisian → run → field
And those AI-manipulated videos led quarterback Arch Manning to have to issue an apology to Rowe after describing those videos as hilarious during his Monday press conference.
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videos → manipulate → conference
Manning, who led the Longhorns back in the second half on Saturday night, apologized to Rowe on Tuesday following his Monday news conference, calling his comments "insensitive" and saying he will be "more thoughtful going forward."
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he → lead → comments
Rowe accepted his apology.
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Rowe → accept → apology
"Obviously Arch recognizes he made a mistake, and it’s an unfortunate one," Sarkisian added.
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Sarkisian → recognize → mistake
"Nowhere do we condone domestic violence or violence against women.
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we → condone → women
Nothing in our program says that nor Arch individually.
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Nothing → say → that
I think if he could take it back, he would.
uncertain
he → think → it
As for Sarkisian, there was also a moment after the first half that could’ve led to his reaction postgame, as ESPN’s Laura Rutledge and the crew had technical difficulties that irked the Texas head coach for having to wait to go back in the locker room and figure out how to come after Ohio State in the second half.
uncertain
that → be → half
Rutledge was even spotted sprinting toward the tunnel in an attempt to reach Sarkisian, only to find he had already headed to the locker room.
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he → spot → room
She acknowledged his patience during the delay, though that patience wore thin once ESPN's technical issues dragged on too long.
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issues → acknowledge → delay
In the end, Sarkisian and Manning offered their apologies, and the Longhorns are now ready to move on as one of the AP poll’s top teams in the country after their victory.
asserted
Longhorns → offer → victory
The Aporia
