A short while ago Texas QB Arch Manning issued an apology on Instagram to ESPN reporter Holly Rowe for making fun of an AI video where his head coach slapped her.
Manning got into trouble for calling that video “hilarious.” As you might expect, fans got pretty angry that he would make fun of an instance of Rowe being slapped.
So today, he issued this apology:
“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,” he wrote in his IG Story.
“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.”
Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images.
Admitting he was wrong.
Fans appreciated Arch apologizing but some also feel that he shouldn’t have needed to apologize in the first place:
“Good on Arch,” one user wrote on X.
“Wow. Back to the 2020 fun police. Dumb meme? Yea
Dumb for him to publicly laugh at it? Yea
Do we all chuckle at memes on text threads and group chats we don’t want people to see? Yea. Please tell me we’re not slipping back into the outrage olympics,” another remarked.
“IG apologizes? He’s coming Home,” wrote a third.
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“Lame. You thought it was funny. The end. Video is in poor taste but it’s AI… I’ve laughed at how woman were killed in B horror moves. The scene in The Fist foot way where dude knocks out Marge is hilarious. In no way does that mean I condone violence against woman or think it’s funny in real life.”
At any rate, it was yet another incident that Manning can put behind him as he continues leads the No. 1 team in the country into a game against UTSA this coming weekend.
