Rodney Terry Apologizes For Earlier "Horns Down" Comments

Rodney Terry has a long history with the Texas Longhorns, including a certain hand gesture inexorably linked with the university’s sports program. Terry’s photo on social media features him making the gesture, and many of his posts include the hashtag #HookEm. But there’s a downside to the ubiquity of the hook ’em horns when it comes to Longhorns sports — including the tendency of teams mocking the gesture when they get the better of Texas.

That’s what happened on Wednesday, when the University of Central Florida Knights surged in the second half and defeated the Longhorns 77-71. Some of the Central Florida players made a “horns down” gesture, and Terry was — shall we say — unamused. “When do you do those kind of things, it looks very classless,” Terry said after the game.

Terry’s reaction sparked plenty of commentary, with ESPN’s Seth Greenberg saying bluntly, “Coach your own team.”

Evidently, Terry himself has spent time thinking about his earlier comments, and revisited them in comments made to the media after the Longhorns’ 75-73 victory over the Baylor Bears. “I had no intention of trying to show up anyone, or offend anyone in terms of what occurred at the end of that game,” Terry said, as per the Associated Press’s reporting on the game.

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Terry went on to deliver a more formal apology as well. “I apologize to our fan base as well, and understand what it means to be the head coach at the University of Texas and what our brand stands for,” he said. As sports controversies go, it’s probably not the largest one we’ll see this year — but it’s good to see Terry responding to the discourse his initial comments sparked.