Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning is facing scrutiny following his remarks about an artificial intelligence-generated video that depicted coach Steve Sarkisian's postgame interaction with ESPN reporter Holly Rowe. The original interaction occurred after Texas' comeback victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Manning, who led Texas to a 24-23 win, addressed the moment on Monday. He stated that he had seen several AI edits of the brief interview. "I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview. Have you all seen that one? That’s a good one. Of him slapping Holly Rowe?" he said with a laugh, according to reports.
The 22-year-old quarterback's response quickly drew attention on social media. At least one AI video circulating online showed Sarkisian appearing to strike Rowe after yelling "Hook ‘em" in her face, an event that did not happen.
Sarkisian's interaction with Rowe followed a challenging night for the coach. Earlier, ESPN's Laura Rutledge reported that technical difficulties had delayed Sarkisian's halftime interview. He ultimately declined the interview due to the delay, apologizing to the network.
"I do want to make sure we clear something up. (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 stated.
Following the win against Ohio State, Texas was elevated to the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll. The team had held the No. 1 ranking at the start of the previous season but fell after losing to the Buckeyes in their opening game.