ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge was forced to issue an apology to Steve Sarkisian before the Texas head coach started facing criticism for his “classless” conduct towards her colleague, Holly Rowe, following the victory over Ohio State.
The Longhorns achieved 21 consecutive points in the fourth quarter, leading to a 24-23 triumph against the top-ranked Buckeyes in Austin, with Arch Manning at the helm.
This victory incited exuberant reactions within Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, as Sarkisian was momentarily interrupted from the celebrations by ESPN's on-field reporter, Rowe.
ESPN faces backlash as Sarkisian snubs Rowe after Texas win over Ohio State
As Rowe attempted to engage the head coach in conversation, he interrupted her by shouting, “Texas fight. That's called Texas fight. Hook ‘Em!’.”
He raised a Longhorns sign to the camera with his left hand before storming away from Rowe to join his celebrating team, declining to provide any insights into the game or respond to her inquiries.
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{{/usCountry}}Veteran reporter Rowe appeared visibly annoyed and frustrated as Sarkisian walked off, while fans online expressed their discontent with his response to one of the industry's most respected reporters.
Sarkisian faced significant backlash online, being labeled as “classless” for his reaction, with one supporter noting that his quarterback, Arch Manning, willingly participated in a post-game interview.
“Manning took the time to talk. But Shark couldn't? Classless," one said.
“I like Steve Sarkisian. But yeah, I can't defend that behavior,” another stated.
The incident followed an uncomfortable halftime moment involving Sarkisian and the ESPN broadcast, which prompted inquiries regarding the network's nationally aired coverage of a prominent Week 2 matchup.
Rutledge, a sideline reporter alongside Rowe, was poised to interview Sarkisian during the break while his team was trailing 20-3. However, the camera shifted to her just as Sarkisian was making his way down the tunnel towards the locker room.
“Alright, we actually just lost Sark because he had to go,” Rutledge said. “I'm sorry about that, you guys. He waited for a long time. Credit to him for waiting. We'll try to get him on the way out of the half.”
Laura Rutledge says ESPN owed apology to Sarkisian
Rutledge could not converse with Sarkisian as he exited for the second half. However, he later confirmed that he had “been very patient” and “apologized,” even though she claimed that ESPN was the one that owed him an apology.
“I do want to make sure we clear something up. [Steve Sarkisian] did decline the interview at the half,” he said.
“He had waited a long time, been very patient with some technical issues that we had. He apologized to us. We should be apologizing to him, which we did.”
Fans react
Several fans criticized ESPN regarding the situation and implied that it played a role in Sarkisian's brief engagement with Rowe following the game.
“Maybe ESPN shouldn’t have made him stand around at half time waiting to come to him before kissing Ryan Days ass. Tell the whole story. Sorry Holly took the brunt of it but after that win and the snub at half time he wanted to be with his team not ESPN.”
Another said: “I think there was some bad blood because they were supposed to interview him at the end of the first half and they blew him off. I think he was still a little sore about it. Evidently he waited before going into the locker room before the first half and then never spoke to him.”