Although it really shouldn’t surprise fans, ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe is covering this Saturday’s showdown between No. 1 Texas and No. 14 Tennessee.
Rowe, one of the top reporters ESPN has to offer, made headlines earlier this month for her abrupt postgame interview with Texas coach Steve Sarkisian. Let’s just say he wasn’t interested in talking after leading his team to a comeback win over Ohio State.
Sarkisian later apologized for how he handled things. He also made it clear that he respects Rowe’s work as a sideline reporter.
“As as it pertains to after the game, again there was a delay after I greeted Coach Day in the middle of the field. There was a delay in the moment, you know, through that delay, I wanted to go celebrate with our team. We just had a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback against the No. 1 team in the country,” Sarkisian said. “If hindsight’s 20/20, if I could do it all over again, I would have exuded more patience in that moment and and and sat through and waited for the interview with Holly. Obviously, we have a ton of respect for ESPN and Holly. Holly and I go way back to even to my days of playing at BYU, and we’ve got a great relationship. ESPN is a great partner of ours.”
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Even though Rowe and Sarkisian don’t have any beef, that didn’t stop fans from creating AI-generated content online. There was one particular video that shows Sarkisian hitting Rowe at midfield after the Ohio State game.
“I have seen a few AI edits of Sark earlier, but that’s about it,” Texas quarterback Arch Manning said while laughing at a press conference. “Have you seen that one? Of him slapping Holly Rowe.”
While it’d be understandable for ESPN to give Rowe another assignment to avoid any awkwardness or drama, she revealed she’s at Neyland Stadium for the Texas-Tennessee game.
Will Holly Rowe interview Arch Manning or Steve Sarkisian?
According to Sport & State, the expectation in Knoxville is that Manning and Sarkisian will be willing to speak with Rowe for pregame or mid-game interviews.
“Inside the Texas athletic department, the belief is that there will be “no issues here” if and when Rowe approaches either coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterback Arch Manning for interviews in Knoxville, according to John Bianco, Texas Senior Associate Athletics Director, Communications,” the report states. “When asked by Sport & State if he expects Sarkisian and Manning to participate in the interviews, Bianco responded simply “yes.” He also acknowledged that customary meetings between the broadcast team and Texas staff are happening as normal.”
It’s worth noting that Manning and Rowe settled their differences behind the scenes.
“I appreciate our conversation about this, which will remain private,” Rowe told Manning on social media. “Apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another.”
