FOX anchor Laura Ingraham has taken a side in the ongoing debate involving Texas quarterback Arch Manning and ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe.
After Texas stormed back to defeat Ohio State on Saturday night, Rowe tried to get a postgame interview with Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian. However, he stormed off after yelling, “Texas Fight, Hook ’em!” A few days later, an AI-generated video of Sarkisian hitting Rowe emerged on TikTok and other social median platforms. It gained so much traction that it even reached Manning’s timeline.
“I have seen a few AI edits of Sark earlier, but that’s about it,” Manning told reporters. “Have you seen that one? Of him slapping Holly Rowe.”
© Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
On Tuesday afternoon, Manning issued an apology to Rowe for his “insensitive” comment.
“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 on Instagram. “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.”
Rowe later issued a response on Instagram, revealing that she had a private conversation with Manning.
“Thank you, Arch,” she said. “I appreciate our conversation about this, which will remain private. Apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another.”
Wrong move by Holly Rowe?
According to Ingraham, it’s “embarrassing” that Rowe received an apology from Manning in the first place.
“Embarrassing,” she wrote on X. “For an veteran sideline reporter to extract an apology from a young player for an innocent offhand comment about an AI video is absurd.”
Clearly, Ingraham thinks Manning did nothing wrong. We’d have to imagine she’s also against Sarkisian apologizing.
As of this moment, Sarkisian hasn’t issued an apology for his awkward interaction with Rowe.
