‘It depends’ when ‘Horns Down’ draws a penalty
ARLINGTON — It wouldn’t be Big 12 media days without a deluge of questions about the ongoing (and never-ending) “Horns Down” drama.
Coordinator of Officials for the Big 12 Greg Burke attempted to provide some clarity as to when an opponent mockingly flashing the inverse of UT’s “Horns Up” would constitute an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
“The answer I will give you is, it depends,” Burke said Tuesday morning at AT&T Stadium. “It's like any unsportsmanlike act. If somebody scores quickly, turns to their cheering section, and it's quick and they move on, we're not going to do anything with that. If it's to a bench or to another player, and it's prolonged, it would be an unsportsmanlike act.
“Like any play, there is a degree: who it's directed at; if they do it in their bench area, we're not going to look at it. It would be like any other celebration foul, so it has to be like any other foul we have. Does it rise to the level we need to deal with that?”
Essentially, context is key here. Officials will have to determine each incident on a case-bycase basis.
“It's a hot topic,” Burke said. “I know people want us to be definitive on that, but it's like any touchdown celebration. Is it directed at an opponent or just celebration with your teammates? What if they direct it at fans?”
Burke referenced an incident from last season when West Virginia quarterback Will Grier flashed the symbol to the Texas student body at Royal-Memorial Stadium after running in a game-winning two-point conversion. In that case, Grier was penalized for the action, a decision Burke agreed with.
“That probably would be a foul in that situation,” Burke said. “When we have discussed it, by rule, anything that's prolonged to be bring attention to the individual rather than the team is a foul.
“My advice is if you want to do that, do it back in your bench area, do it back with teammates, get away from where you are an individual drawing attention to yourself.”