Arch Manning faces criticism over joke about purported AI assault video
The Texas quarterback and members of the press were criticised after laughter followed a reference to footage depicting coach Steve Sarkisian slapping ESPN reporter Holly Rowe.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning has faced criticism after making a press-conference joke about a purported AI-generated video depicting coach Steve Sarkisian slapping ESPN reporter Holly Rowe.
Members of the media were heard laughing after the reference, according to the Yahoo Sports account published by ClutchPoints. The press-conference clip subsequently drew widespread online attention, although the extent of its circulation was not quantified.
The reported video was linked to a postgame exchange after Texas’ comeback against Ohio State on 12 September. Rowe approached Sarkisian for an interview on the field, but the coach interrupted her and shouted, “That’s called Texas fight!”
Female sports journalists including Nicole Auerbach, Stacey Dales, Linda Cohn and Tricia Whitaker condemned the joke and the laughter. Auerbach described the reaction as “so, so gross”, while Whitaker said a woman being hit “isn’t a punchline”.
The supplied account describes the footage as an AI edit and does not independently verify its origin or precise content. The slap was depicted in the purported video, rather than reported as an actual event.
