Reasonable people: SEC's McDaid not offended by 'horns down' gesture

DALLAS — On the second day of Southeastern Conference Media Days, a horde of reporters gathered to enquire about Texas and offense.

Touchdowns and first downs were not the topic.

“Horns down” was.

Nothing causes Longhorns to take offense like the anti-Texas “horns down” gesture.

You know… The gesture that triggered Texas basketball coach Rodney Terry to give Central Florida players a postgame lecture.

You know… the gesture that so upset the delicate Longhorn populace that they lobbied the Big 12 to make it a penalty.

Of course, the Big 12 did.

"Lemme put it this way,” Big 12 Coordinator of Officials Greg Burks said at the conference’s media days. “If you do a ‘horns down’ to a Texas player as an opponent, that's probably going to be a foul.”

That was three years ago.

Also, three years ago, word broke that Texas and Oklahoma would eventually join the merciless world of the SEC.

The news prompted Missouri offensive tackle Case Cook to utter one of my all-time favorite SEC quotes:

“If you can’t handle a ‘horns down’ gesture, I figure it’ll probably be tough to play in this league,” Cook said.

Texas is now a member of the SEC.

So, the question must officially be asked: Will “horns down” draw a yellow flag in the SEC?

John McDaid, the SEC Coordinator of Football Officials, on Tuesday said that depends.

“I ask my officials to use the 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?” McDaid said to the aforementioned horde. “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?”

Note McDaid said “reasonable people.”

He didn’t mention narcissistic, entitled, delusional people… You know, Texas fans.

But the truly reasonable can see there are instances when the gesture could result in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

For instance, if a player makes a tackle, stands over his opponent and flashes “horns down,” that will probably draw a flag. Any act of taunting in a similar would.

Former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was even flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for doing the “Gator Chomp” toward a couple of Oklahoma players in the 2008 national championship game.

Beyond that…

“Giving this signal, to me, isn’t offensive in that particular context,” McDaid said while flashing the gesture.

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Brent Venables flashed a “horns down” after Oklahoma’s 2023 win over Texas. On Tuesday, he said he did not have an opinion on whether it should be penalized.

He continued: “So, let’s go back on the field. We have a player that’s giving it. Is it taunting an opponent, or is it making a travesty of the game?

“If an opponent of Texas would score a touchdown and in celebration with teammates going back up the sideline they’re giving the signal, that’s not an issue.”

Some SEC fan bases have their own gestures, in particular Florida, Texas A&M (Gig ‘Em) and Ole Miss (Shark Fin).

Any of those gestures could possibly lead to a penalty, but McDaid couldn’t recall a gesture-related infraction.

“I cannot remember us doing it in the 2023 season,” he said. “I have been affiliated both on the field and in this position in the SEC since the 2015 season and less than the number of fingers you have on one hand.

“I asked my officials to not consider most acts automatic. There are some automatics. Spitting at an opponent is an automatic. A throat slash in an automatic. But, the rest of them, I want to be evaluated in context.”

To its credit, McDaid said no Texas representative has lobbied the SEC to penalize “horns down.”

Not yet, anyway. Texas has only been an official SEC member for two weeks.

It’s probably just a matter of time.