One Manning down, another Manning next?
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Fans have taken note of former Giants quarterback and Super Bowl champion Eli Manning defending his nephew, Arch Manning, for his response to an AI video of veteran ESPN reporter Holly Rowe being slapped by Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian.
“He’ll have to figure out that media on his own,” Eli Manning told Front Office Sports. “A lot of it is just, you know, kind of growing pains. You feel like they’re your pal. You relax with them a little bit. You try to be funny and then they can take it and run. So, you just got to be careful… there’s certain things that you know, you just got to learn and deal with it. And I think he has learned and he, you know, apologized and did the right steps handling that.”
In the original video, a jubilant Sarkisian dismissed Holly Rowe as she tried to catch him for an immediate post-game interview. He merely said “Texas Fight, Let’s go, Hook’ em,” before joining the celebrations. Pretty much every Longhorns fan was overcome with emotion that night, with Manning having orchestrated an impressive comeback in the 4th quarter to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes. The quarterback scored in three consecutive drives to build the lead.
Sarkisian has since apologized for his conduct, saying he would “do it all over again” if he had the chance, and should have “exuded more patience in that moment.”
Holly Rowe is a veteran in sports media, having worked in the field for more than three decades now. She has been nominated for eight Sports Emmys in her career and has also won one. She had many come to her support after the Sarkisian-Manning incident, including colleague Chris Fowler.
The younger Manning apologized to Rowe for his comment via social media the next day, stating that he respected Rowe as a journalist. He also insisted that there was nothing funny about the post. Rowe also seemed to have forgiven the Texas quarterback for the comment, accepting his apology via an X post and agreeing to move on from the incident.
Since then, a massive debate has emerged on whether Manning was in the wrong, and whether Rowe took the issue a bit too far. Many claim it was a joke, but there are also those who believe the young quarterback could have handled the situation better.
Fans have also noted a marked difference in Manning’s demeanor in his latest presser, with claims of him ‘brick-walling’ the media going viral. His answers were short and safe.
However, a loud group of fans were particularly displeased by his uncle’s take.
“I still don’t quite get the “funny” part of that whole situation,” one fan wrote, resharing Front Office Sports’ clip of the interview posted on X.
“Maybe he can give us a breakdown on what made that video so funny so we can all be in on the joke,” another X user commented.
“So he was trying to be funny???…..just stop talking you stupid fools………” an angry fan wrote.
“He’s an adult,” one user wrote. “Is incapable of being appropriate in all situations? Its always victimhood in these situations.”
“The outrage is a bit excessive but he has to be smarter than that,” a fan shared.
“Or you could just not laugh at a video of a woman getting slapped.”
The incident has created a bad look for the Manning family, who have had to do some damage control. Arch Manning is looking like a potential No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft, especially after the comeback win over the Buckeyes. But this fiasco will force the young quarterback to make better decisions about his media conduct.