SEC: 'Horns Down' gesture will be permitted in proper context

Texas and Oklahoma are still a few weeks away from their inaugural season in the SEC, but already, the pair is seeing some policy changes that they’ll have to adjust to as part of their new league.

While the level of competition, the patch on their uniform, and the amount of cash lining their wallets will be more noteworthy changes, one policy change that they’ll see is certainly making some headlines on Tuesday morning.

In recent years, the Big 12 deemed on-field use of the “Horns Down” gesture as an unsportsmanlike penalty, causing all kinds of controversy among opposing fan bases. The Longhorns were allowed to use the gesture as long as the horns were up but pointed down, apparently worthy of a flag.

Well, that won't be the case anymore as the Longhorns enter the SEC.

On Tuesday morning, SEC Coordinator of Officials John McDaid addressed the gesture that is likely to become very popular in upcoming seasons with Texas entering the league.

“We’re going to evaluate it in context,” McDaid answered. “Is it taunting an opponent? Is it making a travesty of the game? A travesty of the game is something that offends us, right? Kick it out of the football stadium, go put it in a shopping mall, or out in a parking lot somewhere. Well, does it offend someone? Then it’s probably making a travesty of the game.”

He then clarifies that the use of the gesture is permissible in many instances and that it all depends on the context.

“If a player is just doing it to celebrate with his teammates, maybe going back up the sideline after a touchdown or interception, I don’t necessarily have that as a travesty. I don’t have that directed at his opponent,” McDaid said. “So it’s contextual.”

McDaid also met with the media off-stage to explain how the gesture would be integrated into the league’s rules.

“The playing rule that would be applicable is unsportsmanlike conduct,” McDaid says. “We’re gonna read to context with which it is done. I ask my officials to use judgment of: is it taunting an opponent, is it making a travesty of the game, or is it otherwise affecting our ability to manage the game? A travesty of the game is something that offends the senses. 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?

“Giving this signal (flashes the Horns Down), to me, isn’t offensive in that particular context. So, let’s go back on the field. We have a player that’s giving it, is it taunting an opponent or making a travesty of the game? If an opponent of Texas were to score a touchdown and in its celebration with teams is going back up the sideline giving the signal? That’s not an issue. We have that already in the Southeastern Conference. We have teams that have teams like the Gator Chomp, the sharkfin for the defense, where that thing has been done.”

When the Sooners and Longhorns take the field inside the Cotton Bowl in October, this is likely to become a storyline once again, but it appears that the move to a new league will allow Oklahoma players to enjoy the Red River Rivalry in the same manner that former Sooners have dating back for decades.

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