Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday he should have been more patient after cutting short last week’s postgame interview with ESPN reporter Holly Rowe.
After Texas rallied from a 23-3 deficit for a 24-23 win over No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday, ESPN cameras cut to Rowe on the field with Sarkisian. As Rowe began her first question, Sarkisian interjected.
“Let’s go! Texas Fight! Hook ‘em!” he said, flashing a horns-up salute and walking toward his team on the field.
Rowe turned to the camera and walked off screen.
“If hindsight’s 20/20, if I could do it all over again, I would have exuded more patience in that moment and sat through and waited for the interview with Holly. Obviously, we have a ton of respect for ESPN and Holly,” Sarkisian told reporters on Thursday. “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.”
Texas officials said Sarkisian declined the interview after technical difficulties delayed it. Sarkisian cited a delay in the interview after his postgame handshake with Ohio State coach Ryan Day.
Sarkisian also declined a halftime interview with ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge, who explained on air, as cameras showed Sarkisian walking into the locker room, that ESPN was dealing with technical difficulties that required him to wait to begin the interview as his team left the field for halftime.
“I had to make an in-moment decision to say, ‘Wait on the interview,’ or try to get with our team and try to make the proper adjustments to come out and play as good as we could in the second half. I let Laura know that, and I think she said that on air,” Sarkisian said. “And then I had an opportunity to visit with Laura when we came back out of the locker room to let her know where our thoughts were as a team and what we needed to do in the second half of that game.”
The postgame moment between Sarkisian and Rowe sparked immediate discussion. It prompted some people online to produce AI-generated videos, one of which showed Sarkisian slapping Rowe and running away.
Earlier this week, Texas quarterback Arch Manning brought that video up when asked about edits of the interaction, saying it was “hilarious.” Manning later apologized on his social media and called Rowe personally to apologize. Rowe said on her social media she would keep the details of the call private.
“Arch recognizes he made a mistake, and it’s an unfortunate one. Nowhere do we condone domestic violence or violence against women. Nothing in our program says that, nor (does) Arch individually,” Sarkisian said. “I think if he could take it back, he would.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.