Texas Football: 3 overarching Big 12 Media Days storylines
3. “Horns down” ruling
The Big 12 had a critical role in deciding what the outlook for the “Horns down” gesture ruling would be directly related to the Texas football program. Oklahoma and West Virginia were two of the teams last season that caught flack for flashing the Horns down hand sign so frequently during the regular season, and in the Big 12 Championship Game.
The Longhorns are a big brand in the Big 12 and any gesture like this was going to be taken seriously by the conference in some regard. But the Big 12 definitely left this ruling to very open interpretation when asked about the flagging and penalizing of the Horns down gesture. They basically left it as “it depends” on the situation at hand.
Greg Burks gets the Horns down question. His answer on whether it's a penalty: "It depends." Says it depends on whether it's aimed at an opponent or just a sideline celebration. Said Will Grier's Horns down last year to the Texas fans "probably would be a foul."
— Chuck Carlton (@ChuckCarltonDMN) July 16, 2019
With a Red River Showdown between Texas and Oklahoma that could once again determine the outcome of the Big 12, this is going to resurface soon. Texas didn’t highlight the Horns down too much thus far at media days. But it is one of the hot topics around the conference heading into the 2019 regular season.
Greg Burks, Big 12 Coordinator of Officials, says “horns down” gesture will be a penalty if it’s prolonged or directed at opposing team (aka Texas) or it’s fans. If it’s quick and at the player’s’ own fans it probably won’t be called. His advice is save it for sideline.
— Brian Brinkley (@BrianBrinkleyOK) July 16, 2019
There were certainly mixed reactions on social media to how the Big 12 is handling the penalizing of the Horns down hand gesture. It seems like the Big 12 is also concerned about where the celebration would be directed. The length and the severity of the celebration could also play a role in how this is interpreted by the Big 12.