Arch Manning apologizes while facing backlash for comment on AI video of Sarkisian, Holly Rowe

Last updated Sept. 15, at 1:58 p.m. CT

After the Texas Longhorns' miraculous comeback victory over Ohio State, a video of head coach Steve Sarkisian declining his postgame interview with ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe and running to celebrate with the team went viral.

Since then, an AI video emerged where Sarkisian was edited to make it look as though he had slapped Rowe before running off.

When asked about the initial incident during his midweek press conference, quarterback Arch Manning mentioned the AI video and laughed about it, along with the reporters in the room.

Immediately, people began expressing their displeasure and disappointment over Manning laughing at the thought of a woman being hit. Simply put, it was far from Manning's best moment, and you could almost see that he knew he shouldn't have said it as soon as the words escaped his mouth.

One day later, Manning issued an apology to anyone who was hurt by the video, and specifically to Rowe, who is one of the most tenured sideline reporters currently with the network.

"In my press conference yesterday, I made an insensitive comment about an AI video. There is nothing funny about it," Manning wrote. "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.

"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."

Manning wasn't the only one to apologize for the moment, joined by Texas beat reporter Evan Vieth, who originally posted a video of Manning's response in the press conference and captioned it as "gold."

"I originally asked Manning if he had seen any of the TikTok creator edits from the weekend, ones where his celebration is shown over music and fans had taken their own creative spin on a massive win. I hadn't seen the video he was referring to, so in the fast-paced setting of a press conference, I acted far too fast in hitting send on a tweet that I regret.

"That's not an excuse. Captioning Manning's response with "gold" trivialized an AI video depicting violence against a colleague, and that is a mistake I deeply regret.

"As a young journalist just getting started in this industry, I deeply admire the hard work, time, and dedication Holly Rowe has put in to become one of the best reporters working today. I never meant to disrespect her work, vilify Manning, or spread hatred toward anyone, but intent isn't the same as impact, and I own that.

"I sincerely apologize for how I chose to present the tweet, and I'll be more careful going forward, especially when it comes to AI-generated content and how quickly I hit send," Vieth wrote on X.

Rowe responded shortly after by writing, "Thank you Arch. I appreciate our conversation about this - which will remain private. Apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another."

Steve Sarkisian declined both halftime and postgame interviews vs. Ohio State

The postgame interview with Rowe wasn't the only time that Sarkisian left one of ESPN's reporters hanging on Saturday, also leaving the halftime interview with Rowe's counterpart, Laura Rutledge, who specified exactly what had happened later in the game.

"I do want to make sure we clear something up. [Steve Sarkisian] did decline the interview at the half. He had waited a long time, been very patient with some technical issues that we had. He apologized to us. We should be apologizing to him, which we did," Rutledge said as the second half kicked off.

Sarkisian has said that celebrating with the team and later taking a personal moment in the stadium with his wife, Loreal Sarkisian, were special and important for him to do. He has not released a comment on any viral videos or on Manning's comment.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow