Big 12 schools are being put on notice that officials are not cool with the Horns Down hand symbol unless they want to be called for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“If you do a Horns Down to a Texas player as an opponent, that’s probably going to be a foul,” Big 12 Coordinator of Officials Greg Burks said during Thursday's media day.
Horns Down have been a sore spot for the Longhorns ever since the Oklahoma Sooners and nearly every other UT opponent started using it. Burks isn't about the outright ban the hand sign though.
“If you turn to the crowd and do a Horns Down … it will probably not be a foul," he said. "Please all of you note, I said 'probably.' We have to consider intent and consider the situation. We'll leave it to officials."
If Burks wants to get schools and players to stop, it's not working. His comments were immediately mocked on social media with multiple people calling Texas "soft." Even former SoonersBaker Mayfield, Adrian Peterson, and Nic Harris got in on the fun.
While Burks answers questions about Horns Down every year, the Big 12 legitimately wants to reduce taunting in the upcoming football season. Schools can no longer use their bands or stadium's audio/video or lighting systems to distract opposing teams or disrupt an offense's signals, The Athletic reported.
"I promise you, we discuss this every year, because you discuss this every year," Burks said. "I hope in the future that somebody else's symbols will come into play and not just the Horns."
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