Texas rallied late to beat Ohio State in a great game. Why people are talking about an AI video and a Texas candidate instead

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Julian Sayin’s last-second heave bounced around, the ball eventually landing in the hands of Texas’ Graceson Littleton, sealing the Longhorns’ incredible comeback over No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday.

It was a moment of pure joy. The burnt-orange clad players rushed the field, star quarterback Arch Manning looking wild with glee as he sprinted around the field holding up the school’s signature “hook ‘em” hand gesture.

Since that moment, little time has been spent talking about the actual game played on the field, thanks to a fired-up Steve Sarkisian blowing off a post-game interview, a little-known Texas politician making racist comments about the school’s student body and then Manning (and a room full of much older reporters and other individuals) laughing about an AI video depicting violence against ESPN reporter Holly Rowe.

The conversation surrounding the Longhorns this week was expected to center on their playoff chances, Manning living up to sky-high expectations and Sarkisian finally breaking through and completing an incredible comeback from the personal troubles that plagued his time at Washington and USC.

The vibes should be great in Austin. Instead, the discourse centers about concerns about misogyny in the football program and the racial makeup of the student body – something no one would have predicted in those gleeful moments late Saturday night.

It all started just seconds after the final moments ticked away when ESPN’s Holly Rowe began to ask Sarkisian a question on the field at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The Texas head coach had abandoned a halftime on-field interview with Laura Rutledge, which the sideline reporter chalked up to technical difficulties that cut into the coach’s limited halftime intermission.

As Rowe began to speak, an amped-up Sarkisian leaned toward the microphone and yelled, “That’s called Texas fight! That’s called Texas fight! Hook ‘em!” and walked away. Rowe looked frustrated for a moment before walking out of frame, while Sarkisian went to celebrate with the team.

It was a contentious moment clearly fueled by adrenaline and a desire to be with his players, something that wasn’t the best look but was easily understandable. After an incredible fourth-quarter comeback (the Longhorns trailed 23-3 when the quarter started and won 24-23), Sarkisian wanted to spend his time with his players, not ESPN.

But with social media being the AI-filled cesspool that it is, some people took that moment and decided to run with it in gross ways. One such AI-generated video showed Sarkisian’s interaction with Rowe, but edited in a virtual Sarkisian rearing back and striking a virtual Rowe across the face while shouting, “Hook ‘em!” before running away.

It is the kind of shameful content that strange people on the internet decide to create because they think it’s funny, without considering the fact they are using images of real people who have real lives and real emotions and using those images to create something abhorrent. Social media has already allowed many users to hide behind their keyboards to say (or create) things they would never dream of if they had to interact with their targets in real-world situations, all under the guise of “it’s just a joke.”

And for people like Manning, a 22-year-old who has never known a time without social media or the culture around it, it might all feel normal.

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Manning was asked on Monday if he had seen any of AI-generated videos of the postgame celebrations. Reporter Evan Vieth asked the question , explaining later – in a post apologizing for referring to Manning’s answer as “gold” – that he had asked about AI-generated videos of Manning’s joyous run around the turf after the final seconds ran out.

“I’ve seen a few AI edits of stuff but that’s about it. I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview,” Manning said with a smile, using his coach’s nickname, looking to his right at someone off-screen – something he’d do a couple times in the next few seconds.

That brought a round of laughter from the room in which his press conference was being held.

“Have y’all seen that one?” Manning asked the room. “That’s a good one. Of him slapping Holly Rowe?”

That brought another round of laughter, though softer than the first.

Manning added, “That’s hilarious.”

It’s really not, even in the shock-and-awe world of social media where AI has let users create increasingly absurd images and videos in the infinite search for online clout, whatever that’s worth.

Manning’s comments were crass and ill-thought, a brief look into the psyche of the average college-aged athlete who sees shocking images online and chooses to laugh at them as a joke rather than consider the bigger picture. On Tuesday afternoon, he issued an apology on Instagram.

“In my press conference yesterday, I made an insensitive comment about an AI video. 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,” he wrote.

“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.”

Later on Tuesday, Rowe posted a reply to Manning’s mea culpa on Instagram and X . “Thank you, Arch. I appreciate our conversation about this — which will remain private.

“Apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another.”

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ESPN declined to comment on Manning’s press conference.

Not being thoughtful isn’t a crime and everyone has said something they later come to regret. For Manning, it’s a moment that he will likely cringe at going forward and hope to learn from as he becomes a bigger star.

What is more disturbing is the laughter in the room after Manning mentioned the video showed Sarkisian “slapping Holly Rowe.”

Vieth’s video didn’t show who was cracking up at the idea, but – generally speaking – the older and more mature people in the room should know better.

There is another, wholly separate distraction from Saturday night’s victory that has dragged the national immigration debate and culture wars directly into the grandstands at Memorial Stadium.

The official account of the Texas athletic department posted a video late on Saturday showing the student section absolutely losing their minds as Texas scored the tying touchdown, which would be followed by the game-winning extra point.

It’s the kind of scene that highlights why people love sports: delirious joy, screaming, students jumping up and down and hugging each other – a community brought together to cheer on their team. It was a beautiful sight for basically everyone who didn’t attend Oklahoma or Texas A&M, the Longhorns’ traditional rivals.

Unless you are Bo French.

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French, who is running for Texas Railroad Commissioner (a body that, despite its name, oversees oil and gas regulation in the state), noticed that many of the students in that particular video were people of color.

“I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined,” he wrote, replying to the video on X on Sunday morning.

He later added : “Like body-cams exposed criminals, social media is exposing how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners. It’s everywhere and far worse than any of us could imagine.”

French, of course, has no way of knowing how many of those students are from another country or are from Texas. Given that the student body of UT-Austin is about 90% made up of students from the Lone Star State, it’s overwhelmingly likely that the students in that video are Texans – regardless of their skin color.

It’s unclear what role a prospective Texas Railroad Commissioner believes he should play regarding the demographic makeup of the state’s flagship university, but a quick scroll of French’s X feed reveals extensive commentary on foreigners and people of color, with relatively few mentions of the oil and gas industry that he says he’s running to support.

Lifelong Texans, who just happen to have a different skin color than French, now have to grapple with being made to feel like outsiders in a community that is meant to stay with them for life.

The student newspaper at UT-Austin, The Daily Texan , spoke with several students who now feel separate from the community that has become part of their identity. The impact on campus has been tangible and disheartening.

In a period of American history when our politics have grown increasingly caustic and embroiled in culture wars meant to sow divisions along so many different demographic lines that it’s hard to keep track, sports remain a rare unifier. The video French responded to captured a beautiful and genuine human moment: people of all colors and backgrounds coming together to celebrate and feel the pure joy that sports can bring.

The Longhorns line up against UT-San Antonio on Saturday night for their next game, their first as No. 1 since early last season. That moment, and the unity that comes when the ball is kicked off, cannot come soon enough.

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朱利安·萨因在最后一秒的投篮弹来弹去，最终落到了德克萨斯大学的格雷森·利特尔顿手中，帮助长角牛队在周六不可思议地逆转战胜了排名第一的俄亥俄州立大学。

那是一个充满喜悦的时刻。身穿橙红色球衣的球员们冲进球场，明星四分卫阿奇·曼宁兴奋得手舞足蹈，绕场奔跑，同时举起学校标志性的“hook 'em”手势。

从那一刻起，人们很少花时间谈论场上实际进行的比赛，这要归咎于情绪激动的史蒂夫·萨克西恩拒绝赛后采访，一位名不见经传的德克萨斯州政客对该校学生发表了种族主义言论，以及曼宁（和一群年纪大得多的记者和其他人）嘲笑一段人工智能视频，该视频描绘了针对 ESPN 记者霍莉·罗的暴力行为。

本周围绕德克萨斯长角牛队的讨论预计将集中在他们的季后赛机会、曼宁能否达到极高的期望以及萨克西恩最终取得突破并完成令人难以置信的复出，摆脱了在华盛顿大学和南加州大学时期困扰他的个人问题。

奥斯汀的气氛本应很好。然而，讨论的焦点却集中在对橄榄球项目中的厌女症以及学生群体种族构成的担忧上——这在周六深夜那些欢欣鼓舞的时刻，是任何人都无法预料到的。

一切始于比赛结束的最后几秒钟，当时ESPN的霍莉·罗伊在达雷尔·K·罗亚尔-德克萨斯纪念体育场内向萨克西恩提问。这位德克萨斯大学主教练此前中断了与劳拉·拉特利奇的中场采访，场边记者解释说，这是由于技术故障导致教练有限的中场休息时间被打乱了。

罗威刚要开口，情绪高涨的萨尔基相就凑近麦克风，大喊道：“这叫德州斗志！这叫德州斗志！勾手！”说完便走开了。罗威愣了一下，似乎有些沮丧，然后走出了镜头，而萨尔基相则跑去和队友们庆祝了。

那是一个充满争议的时刻，显然是肾上腺素飙升和想要陪伴球员的强烈愿望所致，虽然这看起来不太妥当，但也完全可以理解。在第四节上演了一场惊天逆转（德克萨斯长角牛队在第四节开始时以3-23落后，最终以24-23获胜）之后，萨克西恩教练只想把时间花在球员身上，而不是ESPN的解说上。

但由于社交媒体如今充斥着人工智能，一些人便借此机会进行了一些令人作呕的恶搞。其中一段人工智能生成的视频就展现了萨尔基相与罗威的互动，但视频中却插入了一个虚拟的萨尔基相，他向后仰身，一拳打在虚拟的罗威脸上，同时大喊“勾手！”然后逃走。

这种令人作呕的内容，是网络上一些怪人出于自以为好玩而创作的，他们丝毫不顾及自己使用的是真实人物的照片，这些人物有着真实的生活和情感，而他们却利用这些照片来创作令人作呕的东西。社交媒体已经让许多用户躲在键盘后面，肆意妄为，说出（或创作）那些如果在现实生活中与目标人物互动，他们绝对不会想到的事情，而这一切都披着“这只是个玩笑”的外衣。

对于像曼宁这样22岁的人来说，他从未经历过没有社交媒体或相关文化的时代，这一切可能感觉很正常。

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周一，有人问曼宁是否看过人工智能生成的赛后庆祝活动视频。记者埃文·维斯提出了这个问题，之后他在一篇帖子中解释说——并为自己称曼宁的回答“精彩绝伦”而道歉——他问的是人工智能生成的曼宁在比赛结束几秒钟后绕场奔跑的视频。

“我见过一些人工智能剪辑的片段，但也仅此而已。我见过萨克采访的人工智能剪辑版，”曼宁笑着说，他用了教练的昵称，同时看向右边屏幕外的人——在接下来的几秒钟里，他做了好几次这样的动作。

他的话引得举行新闻发布会的房间里响起一阵笑声。

“你们都看过那段视频吗？”曼宁问在场的人。“那段挺精彩的。就是他打霍莉·罗伊的那段？”

这又引来一阵笑声，不过比第一声要轻柔一些。

曼宁补充道：“这太搞笑了。”

即使在令人震惊的社交媒体世界里，人工智能也让用户能够创造出越来越荒谬的图片和视频，无休止地追求网络影响力（无论这种影响力值多少钱），但事实并非如此。

曼宁的言论粗俗不堪，欠考虑，这让我们得以窥见普通大学生运动员的心理：他们在网上看到令人震惊的图片时，往往会选择一笑置之，而不是深入思考其背后的深意。周二下午，他在Instagram上发表了道歉声明。

“在昨天的记者招待会上，我对一段人工智能视频发表了不当言论。这绝非玩笑。说我并非有意为之很容易，但我知道我的言行伤害了很多人。我对此深感愧疚，并致以最诚挚的歉意。”他写道。

“我特别想向霍莉·罗伊道歉，因为我的言论给她带来了个人困扰。我非常尊重她，也感谢她在这个时候对我的宽容。我需要做得更好，以后会更加谨慎。”

周二晚些时候，罗威在Instagram和X上回应了曼宁的道歉。“谢谢你，阿奇。我很感激我们关于此事的谈话——这将保持私密。”

“道歉已接受。我们今后将以互相尊重和友善的态度继续前行。”

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ESPN拒绝就曼宁的新闻发布会发表评论。

说话不经大脑并非罪过，每个人都说过一些事后后悔的话。对曼宁来说，这或许是他日后会感到尴尬的时刻，他希望从中吸取教训，并在日后成为更耀眼的明星时有所收获。

更令人不安的是，当曼宁提到视频显示萨尔基相“掌掴霍莉·罗伊”时，房间里响起了笑声。

Vieth 的视频没有显示是谁对这个想法感到好笑，但总的来说，房间里年纪较大、较为成熟的人应该更清楚这一点。

周六晚上的胜利还带来了另一个完全不同的干扰因素，那就是全国性的移民辩论和文化战争直接蔓延到了纪念体育场的看台上。

德克萨斯大学体育部门的官方账号在周六晚些时候发布了一段视频，视频显示，当德克萨斯大学达阵扳平比分，随后又踢进制胜附加分时，学生们彻底疯狂了。

这正是人们热爱体育的原因：欣喜若狂，呐喊助威，学生们蹦蹦跳跳，互相拥抱——整个社区为了支持自己的球队而团结一心。对于几乎所有非俄克拉荷马大学或德克萨斯农工大学（长角牛队的宿敌）的学生来说，这都是一幅美丽的景象。

除非你是法国人。

卡拉汉·奥黑尔/路透社/档案照片

德克萨斯州一位候选人发表种族主义言论，再次引发人们对共和党内部偏见问题的担忧。

正在竞选德克萨斯州铁路专员（尽管名称如此，但该机构负责监管该州的石油和天然气）的弗伦奇注意到，那段视频中的许多学生都是有色人种。

“我听说今年德克萨斯大学的毕业典礼是这样的。我简直不敢相信。现在看来，问题显然比任何人想象的都要严重得多。”他在周日早上回复X网站上的视频时写道。

他后来补充道：“就像执法记录仪曝光了犯罪分子一样，社交媒体也揭露了有多少美国人被外国人排挤。这种情况无处不在，而且比我们任何人想象的都要糟糕得多。”

当然，弗兰奇无从得知这些学生中有多少来自其他国家，又有多少来自德克萨斯州。鉴于德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的学生约有90%来自德克萨斯州，因此视频中的学生极有可能都是德州人——无论他们的肤色如何。

目前尚不清楚这位德克萨斯州铁路专员候选人认为自己应该在德克萨斯州旗舰大学的人口构成方面扮演什么角色，但快速浏览一下 French 的 X 信息流就会发现，他发表了大量关于外国人和有色人种的评论，而对于他声称要支持的石油和天然气行业却鲜有提及。

土生土长的德州人，仅仅因为肤色与法国人不同，现在不得不面对在原本应该陪伴他们一生的社区中，却感觉自己像个局外人的困境。

德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的学生报纸《每日德克萨斯人报》采访了几位学生，他们现在感觉与曾经融入他们身份认同的社群渐行渐远。这种影响对校园的影响显而易见，令人沮丧。

在美国历史上，政治日益尖锐，文化战争愈演愈烈，旨在人为地制造各种群体间的分裂，令人眼花缭乱，而体育却依然是难得的团结力量。弗兰奇回应的那段视频捕捉到了一个美好而真挚的人性瞬间：不同肤色、不同背景的人们齐聚一堂，共同庆祝，感受体育带来的纯粹快乐。

德克萨斯长角牛队将于周六晚迎战德克萨斯大学圣安东尼奥分校，这将是他们自上赛季初以来首次以头号种子身份出战。那一刻，以及开球瞬间的团结，都令人翘首以盼。