The Texas quarterback faces intense backlash after laughing at a violent AI parody of Holly Rowe, sparking a fierce debate over locker room humor versus modern misogyny.
"Misogyny'' has infiltrated college football ... or so go the accusations leveled at Arch Manning.
Manning, quarterback of No. 1-ranked Texas and a Heisman Trophy candidate, is apologizing for his controversial and “insensitive” reaction to an AI-generated video depicting violence toward ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe.
After Texas produced a scintillating rally to beat Ohio State last Saturday night in Austin, Rowe attempted to do an on-field interview with Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian. Instead of answering her question, a jubilant and distracted Sarkisian only said “Texas fight. Hook ‘em!” before abruptly walking away to celebrating with players and fans.
Rowe was left in a pouting snit, with slumped shoulders and a look of disgust on her face. That, of course, prompted a wave of reactions from the internet including an AI video of the exchange featuring Sarkisian violently slapping Rowe, who fell face first onto the field.
Manning’s first reaction - and mine, to be honest - was to laugh at the fake video.
“I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview,” Manning said during a Sunday press conference, laughing. “Have y’all seen that one? That’s a good one. Of him slapping Holly Rowe? It’s hilarious.”
Depending on your perspective, Manning was:
A) Helping fuel America’s moral decline by laughing at physical abuse toward women.
B) Simply being a man with a sense of humor.
While the “B” crowd - which included several reporters at the press conference - laughed along with Manning and issued him a validating, virtual fist-bump, the “A” group decried the quarterback’s actions as misogynistic and repulsive.
Less than 24 hours later, Manning succumbed to “A.”
“In my press conference yesterday, I made an insensitive comment about an AI video,” Manning said on social media. “There is nothing funny about it. It’s easy to say I didn’t mean it, but I know my words and actions were hurtful to a lot of people. I do not take that lightly and am deeply sorry for that. I specifically want to apologize to Holly Rowe for what she has personally had to deal with because of my comments. I have a ton of respect for her and appreciate her showing me grace in this moment. I need to do better and will be more thoughtful going forward.”
There’s no denying America’s long history of mistreating women. Only in 1920 - about 150 years after being founded as a country - were women given the right to vote. And in politics today, there remains a powerful movement that oozes an “Alpha” attitude that attempts to shout women “back into the kitchen.”
On the other hand - and I wholly realize I’m lacing up my skates to tread on very thin ice here - it’s just a cartoon. A mini-movie.
Sarkisian didn’t actually hit Rowe. It’s totally fake, no more real than the violence toward women depicted in classic movies such as "Psycho,'' "The Shining'' and "Sleeping With The Enemy.'' I don’t remember the people that bought tickets and enjoyed those movies being forced to apologize.
Rowe said on her social media that she and Manning talked and she accepted his apology.
“Thank you Arch,” she said. “I appreciate our conversation about this -- which will remain private. Apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another.”
Kudos to Rowe for not turning a molehill into a mountain.
But the incident does shed even more light on the stark “American experience” difference from the perspective of men and women.
Men are inherently more, well, physical and violent. We guffaw at the 100-perfect fake - slapstick violence of "The Three Stooges'' and "Family Guy.'' We like UFC. We casually absorb being portrayed as “dumb husband” punchlines in TV sitcoms and commercials (think "Everybody Loves Raymond'' and "King of Queens.") We don’t even complain when every single episode of "America’s Funniest Videos'' features a man getting accidentally hit in the crotch … but never a woman getting hit in the boob.
Look, I lean waaaaaay closer to “A” than “B.” But I’d also laugh if the AI video was reversed and Rowe tackled Sarkisian from behind when he tried to run away from the interview.
I even pumped a “good for her” fist and cackled in 1993 when abused wife Lorena Bobbitt got “revenge” on her husband. (And I bet, if they’re being honest, the “B” crowd did too.)
We can debate whether a company like Good Good should be canceled for producing a promotional video in which a male golfer tackles a female. We can also argue whether there is a growing backlash against female sideline reporters and their canned featurettes during games for being an insult to football fans.
But we can no longer deny this:
America is now at the toxic intersection of being both too insensitive and too sensitive.
