Horns Down in the SEC? SEC’s Coordinator of Officials dissects criteria to deserve a flag
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Horns Down is a term that anyone associated with Texas knows all about. An inverted hand signal of the customary “Hook ’em” used by the Longhorns, the symbol has been used by rivals and opponents to troll Texas on and off the field.
In the Big 12, the Horns Down sign was customarily deserving of a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. During a recent basketball game between Texas and BYU, the front row of the student section of the Cougars donned — and then removed — shirts that read “Horns Down” leading some to wonder what prompted the wardrobe change.
Considering that Texas and Oklahoma will now be in the SEC, fans have wondered how the Horns Down gesture by players will be monitored by officials. John McDaid, the SEC’s Coordinator of Officials, discussed the matter during Tuesday’s SEC Media Days, and he claimed context will be important.
McDaid said his officials are instructed to gauge potential unsportsmanlike conduct penalties using 3 criteria: Is it taunting an opponent, is it making a travesty of the game, and is it impacting our ability to otherwise manage the game?
McDaid described the “travesty” component and also broke down how certain hand signals are already prevalent in the SEC:
“A travesty of the game is something that offends the senses, right? Take the act out of a football stadium, go put it in a shopping mall or a grocery store. Is it something that would offend the senses of the majority of reasonable people in the area? (Horns Down) to me isn’t offense in that particular context,” explained McDaid.
“If an opponent of Texas would score a touchdown and in celebration with their teammates is giving the signal, that’s not an issue. We already have that in the Southeastern Conference. We have things like the Gator Chomp, the shark fin for the defense where that thing has been done and over the years we evaluate it.”
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Then again, if a player stands over an opponent and gives the Horns Down signal in the direction of the other, “now we’ve got taunting and that would be unsportsmanlike conduct” McDaid clarified.
SEC coordinator of officials John McDaid on how the conference will legislate the Horns Down hand gesture pic.twitter.com/fSpRFB2OnB
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) July 16, 2024
That is certainly a commonsense approach to Horns Down, but you can bet it will be closely monitored and critiqued by fans throughout the 2024 season.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
