Texas coach apologizes for ‘Horns Down’ rant

Jan 20, 2024, 05:26 PM ET

AUSTIN, Texas– Texas coach Rodney Terry asked forgiveness Saturday after his group beat No. 9 Baylor for how he responded earlier in the week when he saw some Main Florida players do a “horns down” hand sign in the minutes after the Knights beat the Longhorns on their home court.Terry had called the actions by UCF players”classless “and confronted several of them in the postgame line for handshakes. The “horns down” hand indication has actually long been utilized by Texas rivals, and Terry’s remarks were widely criticized throughout social media.

“I had no intent of attempting to appear anyone, or anger anybody in terms of what took place at the end of that game,” Terry said.He described UCF coach Johnny Dawkins as “a truly good friend of mine.”

“He has a great program and they’re having an excellent year. Personally, if I offended him or his program, or anybody for that matter, that was not my objective,” Terry stated.

“We have a lot of enthusiasm for who we are and what we are representing. We try to do that in a class way, at the greatest level,” Terry said. “If I angered some of our fans also in not handling myself in the proper way … I say sorry to our fan base too, and understand what it indicates to be the head coach at the University of Texas and what our brand name represents.”