Saturday was supposed to be about Arch Manning’s comeback win against Ohio State. Instead, the Texas quarterback found himself at the center of controversy after addressing a fake AI video with coach Steve Sarkisian and ESPN reporter Holly Rowe, calling it “hilarious.”
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“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,” Manning wrote on his Instagram handle in a story.
While the QB has since apologized for the comment, the fans are not buying it.
“Inexcusable. Suspend him for 3 games,” said a fan.
The controversy in question happened at a news conference on Monday, when Manning was asked whether he had seen any social media posts from the celebrations following Texas’ dramatic 24-23 win against Ohio State. The QB, in response, added that he had seen some AI-made edits.
His words quickly spread across social media, with many individuals condemning what he said about a senior ESPN voice of the game. Although his apology came in time, fans are not in the mood to let him off the hook.
One of the netizens believed that he should apologize in a proper manner.
“He should apologize in front of a mic in a room full of reporters,” the comment read.
Another believed that the entire apology statement was written by someone else.
“Ctrl C, Ctrl V lookin a** apology,” the user declared.
One of the netizens took it a bit too far, saying they knew what had happened behind the scenes leading up to the “forced” apology.
“Nah. You exposed your true colors,” the comment read. “You’re being forced to post this. You don’t feel genuinely sorry. A forced apology is easy to spot.”
Meanwhile, another doubled down on the criticism with an implication that this was being done strategically.
“What a fake apology. He doesn’t genuinely mean a word of it. I bet his PR rep wrote it for him,” the user said.
There were also those who thought that the apology sounded like a repetition of other similar apologies.
“Does every public apology use the same template?” the comment read.
It was certainly a comment that shouldn’t have been made, but Manning’s apology was accepted by Holly Rowe herself. She stated that they had a private conversation after he made those comments and that she made sure he understood the intensity of his remarks.
“Thank you Arch,” Rowe wrote on her Instagram. “I appreciate our conversation about this — which will remain private. Apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another.”
The fallout continued even today as reporter Evan Vieth, who asked the question at the press conference, apologized for calling Manning’s reaction “gold” in an X post that has surpassed 25 million views.
“I sincerely apologize for how I chose to present the tweet, and I’ll be more careful going forward, especially when it comes to AI-generated content and how quickly I hit send,” the reporter wrote on X.
Manning has apologized, Rowe has accepted it, and even the reporter behind the viral post has owned his mistake. For now, the Arch Manning controversy appears to be heading toward its final whistle.