SEC coordinator of football officials John McDaid shed some very important light on the fate of the “Horns Down” celebration with Texas entering the conference this fall.
The “Horns Down” has become the most famous way opponents celebrate against Texas. Of course, Texas fans abhor it and want it flagged in any instance. The Big 12 went so far as to designate the act an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. But Texas isn’t in the Big 12 anymore.
McDaid said at this week’s SEC Media Days that context is key when calling any potential “Horns Down” penalty. He pretty clearly hinted that it would not be called a foul if opposing players simply threw down the gesture to celebrate and didn’t do it to directly taunt Texas players.
To McDaid, the act would have to be offensive to the senses to be flagged, which the “Horns Down” in a common sense view is clearly not unless you’re a Texas fan.
“If you took that act out of a football stadium and did it in a shopping mall or a grocery store, would it offend the senses to a majority of the reasonable people in the area, right?” McDaid said, via CBS Austin sports director Bob Ballou. “That signal would not, right? You might have some people that share that signal with you if you did that at a grocery store or at a shopping mall, depending where you are.”
Horns Down will not be a penalty in the SEC.
"If you took that act out of a football stadium and did it in a shopping mall or a grocery store – would it offend the senses to a majority of the reasonable people in the area? That signal would not. You might have some people that… pic.twitter.com/JHCHM44D8U
— Bob Ballou (@BobBallouSports) July 16, 2024
As Texas prepares for life in the SEC, McDaid outlined a world where the Longhorns are just going to have to get used to the Horns Down gestures unless they’re aimed directly at them.
Opposing players seem to have the green light to Horns Down at their leisure as long as it’s not done as a direct taunt.
