Texas quarterback Arch Manning drew heavy criticism on Monday after he shared an unexpected answer during his media availability.
Asked whether he had seen any clips of head coach Steve Sarkisian’s brief postgame interaction with ESPN reporter Holly Rowe following Texas’ 24-23 victory, Manning acknowledged that he had watched an AI-generated video depicting Sarkisian slapping Rowe.
On Saturday, the Longhorns coach interrupted the attempted interview by shouting “Let’s go, Texas fight!” and “Hook ’Em!” before leaving to celebrate.
“I’ve seen a few AI edits; that’s about it. 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.”
Manning’s and the media members’ laughs about the altered version of Sarkisian’s interview depicting a violent moment against Rowe quickly drew backlash online.
“The Manning clan need a talk with their nephew. Violence toward women is never funny,” a user wrote.
“I’ll just never think violence toward a woman is funny, sorry,” another posted.
“Man I wish Arch wouldn’t have commented on this. He needs to be more aware of the current culture as a nationally recognized athlete,” a third person added.
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“What part of that AI edit of a man slapping a woman was funny?” another user posted.
“This is insane to think this is funny,” one person stated.
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Others focused on the reaction inside the media room.
“The room full of 40+ year old men laughing with him is much more concerning than the college kid finding it funny,” one person wrote.
Texas returns to the field against UTSA in Week 3 before opening SEC play at Tennessee in Week 4.
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