Don’t mess with Texas.
And for Big 12 teams, that means you can’t give them the “Horns Down” either.
The gesture has been popular taunt for opposing teams (looking at you, Oklahoma) playing the Texas Longhorns in recent years, but the Big 12 announced today at their media day that the gesture would “probably” be a penalty this year.
Big 12 coordinator of officials Greg Burks said that if an opposing player does a Horns Down to a Texas player, that will probably be a penalty. But doing a Horns Down toward your own fans "probably won't," be a penalty, although he left open the possibility that it could be.
— Jason Kersey (@jasonkersey) July 15, 2021
When asked about the Horns Down as part of the league’s crackdown on unsportsmanlike conduct, the Big 12 coordinator of football officials Greg Burks gave an answer that’s about as clear as mud:
“If you do a Horns Down to a Texas player as an opponent, that’s probably going to be a foul.
If you turn to the crowd and do a Horns Down … it will probably not be a foul.
Please all of you note, I said ‘probably.’ We have to consider intent and consider the situation. We’ll leave it to officials.”
Make sense?
I mean, not really…
The Horns Down has been a big topic of conversation when it comes to officiating in the Big 12 in recent years, after West Virginia was flagged twice for the gesture in 2018 and Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley warned his team against flashing the Horns Down ahead of the team’s matchup with Texas in the 2018 Big 12 Championship Game.
Good grief. It’s a hand gesture. It’s not threatening, just a little good old fashioned shit-talking. What’s the big deal here?
Obviously football fans took to Twitter to mock the crackdown on Horns Down, calling officials and Texas “soft” for banning the gesture.
Texas fans when they see horns down pic.twitter.com/tiuxaNnopR
— Zachary Person (@Zac_Person) July 15, 2021
NCAA soft af for trying to stop the horns down gesture. pic.twitter.com/7yQGWz8FBb
— JamesSartain (@sartain_james) July 15, 2021
Please don't post uncensored pictures of football players doing the Horns Down. This is a family site
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) July 15, 2021
Texas complaining so much that they’re now making horns down a penalty is the softest thing I’ve ever seen in college football.
— Hollywood Spence (@SpenceMeekins) July 15, 2021
Even some Texas fans think it’s a stupid rule.
Booooooo!!!!! We ain’t no punks around here. Let em throw the Horns down if they wish and suffer the consequences! 🤘🏾🤘🏾🤘🏾 https://t.co/E9a4r0KxOP
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) July 15, 2021
I know I have a slight bias since I went to UT, but penalizing the Horns Down is really, really dumb https://t.co/l2zsvZeU3L
— Stephen Wagner (@stephenwag22) July 15, 2021
Something tells me Texas will be seeing a lot more Horns Down from opposing fans this year, since the players won’t be allowed to do it themselves.
