Arch Manning Apologizes to ESPN’s Holly Rowe for Joking About AI Video
On Tuesday, Texas starting quarterback Arch Manning issued a public apology to ESPN reporter Holly Rowe, one day after he made comments during a press conference in Austin. When asked if he’d seen any social media edits over the weekend celebrating Texas’s win over Ohio State, Manning responded by making light of an AI-generated edit in which Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian struck Rowe during a postgame interview.
“I’ve seen a few AI edits and stuff, but that’s about it,” Manning said. “I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview. Have y’all seen that one? That’s a good one, of him slapping Holly Rowe? It’s hilarious.”
“I saw the AI Edit of (Sark) slapping Holly Rowe.”
I asked Arch Manning if he’d seen any edits on TikTok or Twitter after the game, and his answer is gold. pic.twitter.com/70FnNCVEHb
— Evan Vieth (@EvanVieth) September 14, 2026
In actuality, Sarkisian gave Rowe a quick postgame statement, not allowing time for a full interview, before leaving to celebrate with the team. He was also unavailable for an interview at halftime after “waiting for a long time” and having to go, according to fellow ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge during Saturday’s broadcast.
“Alright, we actually just lost Sark because he had to go. I’m sorry about that, you guys. He waited for a long time. Credit to him for waiting. We’ll try to get him on the way out of the half.” – Laura Rutledge on Texas HC Steve Sarkisian pic.twitter.com/pacpABhvZh
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 13, 2026
Steve Sarkisian bailed on the postgame interview with Holly Rowe
pic.twitter.com/pCM0m15yrX — Underdog CFB (@UnderdogCFB) September 13, 2026
Manning received backlash in the aftermath of his comments on Monday, leading to Tuesday’s apology. In his statement, the fourth-year quarterback wrote: “There is nothing funny about it. It’s easy to say that I didn’t mean it, but I know my words and actions were hurtful to a lot of people.”
Reached by Front Office Sports, ESPN declined to comment. Rowe posted a response via her Instagram account, where she stated that she and Manning had a conversation, and she forgave him.
“Thank you, Arch,” Rowe said. “I appreciate our conversation about this– which will remain private. Apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another.”
Yesterday, I published a tweet of Arch Manning responding to a question of mine, where he mentioned seeing an AI video of Steve Sarkisian slapping Holly Rowe.
I captioned his response as “gold.”
I realized quickly that I had made a mistake and was far too hasty in publishing…
— Evan Vieth (@EvanVieth) September 15, 2026
Reporter Evan Veith of InsideTexas, who asked the question and posted the interaction on X, also received backlash for describing Manning’s answer as “gold” and issued his own apology via X on Tuesday as well; in part saying “Captioning Manning’s response with “gold” trivialized an AI video depicting violence against a colleague, and that is a mistake I deeply regret.”
Manning, a junior, helped lead a 20-point comeback for the Longhorns in their 24-23 win over No. 6 Ohio State last weekend. Texas rose to No. 1 in the AP Poll and will play again this Saturday at home against UTSA at 8 p.m. ET.
The post Arch Manning Apologizes to ESPN’s Holly Rowe for Joking About AI Video appeared first on Front Office Sports.
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