Why are We Laughing Here?

(TW: Violence against women)

Look at this snot nosed punk right here. And listen to the other snot nosed punks in the room.

What is it that Arch found hilarious? Did…did he say an “AI edit of Sark slapping Holly Rowe”?

Yes. Yes he did:

Holly Rowe is a consummate professional. She is literally a Hall of Fame broadcaster.

Sark apparently blew off Laura Rutledge during the halftime interview, and it was explained away as there being technical difficulties. Between those difficulties and Ryan Day talking a bit longer than one would have expected, that made sense, although Rutledge’s response coming out the break felt weird.

But I want to return to Arch here. And I called him a snot nosed punk because he’s not a kid. He’s a 22 year old fourth year college student. He is old enough to legally drink. He’s also old enough to understand why the video isn’t funny, and be held accountable for why he thinks it is funny.

What was funny about the video, Arch? What was funny about it?

Oh, oh, it’s funny because it wasn’t what really happened, huh?

That makes it okay, then? Because it was, quite possibly, the fantasy of a deluded person who thought that maybe Holly should have been slapped in that post-game moment?

I want someone who was in that room—say, a reporter in their later 20s or 30s or older—to explain to me why they thought a (fake) video of one of their peers getting assaulted on the field post-game by a coach was so funny.

And would they think the same thing if it was an AI video of Tom Rinaldi getting laid out by Sark.

Laughing at the video, or handwaving it away by saying, “Oh, it was AI generated” completely misses the point on several different levels. We cannot normalize this on any level—real or imagined. And the fact that this has been circulating for nearly a day (as of publishing this) without a response from Texas’s sports information department does not instill me with a level of confidence that they think this is a big deal at all.

Where you at, John Bianco?

Where you at, Thomas Stepp?

Where you at, Grace Tafolla?

Did you all think it was funny, too?

Because many of us who love the game…are not laughing with you.

Update: Arch Manning has posted an apology of sorts

Although I agree with Phantom Island‘s Ryan Nanni here:

an apology is better than several alternatives, but personally i always feel off when the initial comment comes from someone’s voice and face and the apology is Phone Text

[image or embed]— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub.bsky.social) September 15, 2026 at 11:18 AM

Evan Vieth of Inside Texas, the reporter who asked the question that elicited the response from Manning, and then who posted the video that he called in his Twitter post sharing the clip that Manning’s response was “gold”, has also issued an apology of sorts:

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 the video without further context and with an inappropriate caption.

For that, I am deeply sorry.

I originally asked Manning if he had seen any of the TikTok creator edits from the weekend, ones where his celebration is shown over music and fans had taken their own creative spin on a massive win. I hadn’t seen the video he was referring to, so in the fast-paced setting of a press conference, I acted far too fast in hitting send on a tweet that I regret.

That’s not an excuse. Captioning Manning’s response with “gold” trivialized an AI video depicting violence against a colleague, and that is a mistake I deeply regret.

As a young journalist just getting started in this industry, I deeply admire the hard work, time, and dedication Holly Rowe has put in to become one of the best reporters working today. I never meant to disrespect her work, vilify Manning, or spread hatred toward anyone, but intent isn’t the same as impact, and I own that.

I sincerely apologize for how I chose to present the tweet, and I’ll be more careful going forward, especially when it comes to AI-generated content and how quickly I hit send.

Although I guess I still wonder how you asked your question and didn’t even hear that he said, “Of him SLAPPING HOLLY ROWE”.

Or you did hear it, and still thought, “Eh. I’ll post it anyway.”

Also, Evan, what about his response was “gold” to you?

Just wondering.