Sports

Curt Cignetti Offers Stark Contrast To Steve Sarkisian By Denouncing Innocuous Josh Hoover TD Celebration

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Robert Goddin-Imagn Images / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Curt Cignetti condemned Josh Hoover's touchdown celebration.


The Texas football team twice made headlines in a win over Tennessee on Saturday for obscene player celebrations. One was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct to prevent a third-down stop after a Colin Simmons sack. The other followed a game-sealing touchdown run by Raleek Brown.

Steve Sarkisian said there may have been other instances that didn’t go viral. It’s created questions surrounding his role as a leader in the locker room.

Blake Toppmeyer of USA Today Sports wrote an article on Tuesday titled, “Texas has a $50M roster and a TikTok mindset.” It dove into the backlash of the celebrations, as well as Sarkisian’s responsibilities as head coach.

Texas football lacks the discipline for a national title. Does Steve Sarkisian care?…  Sarkisian’s job is to get his players to focus on ball instead of becoming consumed by their brand or distracted by the algorithms…

Culture starts at the top. It’s on Steve Sarkisian to fix this… Are the Longhorns committed to pursuing greatness? Or, would they rather be “TikTok U.”?

Texas did win the football game. The celebrations had no impact on the outcome. The Longhorns are now 4-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation.

With that being said, it is an issue. The group was undisciplined. They played for the name on the back of the jersey instead of the front. Superstars sought out attention at the detriment of the team.

It didn’t bite the Longhorns on Saturday. It could in the future if not cleaned up.

Steve Sarkisian addressed the Texas football celebrations.

That response received mixed reviews. Sarkisian condemned the behavior in the postgame press conference, calling the antics “unacceptable.”

“We’ve got to do a better job of celebrating with one another. The moment you start to demean the opponent, the flags come out.”

-Steve Sarkisian

He also placed blame on society and social media, which some viewed as an excuse.

“We live in the look-at-me society. And all you guys have your Twitter accounts, and as fast as you can type something, (you do), because you want everyone to look at your account, and you get clicks. Well, that’s the world that we live in.”

-Steve Sarkisian

Raleek Brown admitted that his touchdown celebration was inspired by TikTok. After scoring on a fourth quarter handoff, he grabbed his crotch, sniffed his hand, and fainted in the endzone.

Colin Simmons’ celebration came a few quarters earlier. After sacking Tennessee signal caller Brandon Faizon in the first half, he pretended to unzip his pants and urinate on the field.

That taunt was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. It gave the Vols a fresh set of downs. It may have prevented a scoring opportunity as the ‘Horns were likely going to take over near midfield after a punt.

Sarkisian addressed Simmons’ penalty after the game. He took him out of the game briefly but didn’t view the mistake as egregious enough to warrant a suspension.

He’s probably right. It was a dumb decision by a 20-year-old kid. The problem most had with the Texas football coach was not in his handling of punishment, but in his deflection of blame.

Curt Cignetti offered a stark contrast.

Indiana found itself in a dogfight with Northwestern on Friday night in Bloomington. A late Josh Hoover touchdown run sealed a win for the Hoosiers.

The quarterback pointed towards the sky before crossing the goal line. Cignetti didn’t appreciate it.

“I don’t want him pointing like he did. I don’t condone that,” Cignetti said in his weekly presser. He mentioned that it could’ve cost the Hoosiers points in a one-score game had he been called for taunting.

Cignetti did not place blame on the media, the internet, or other outside source. He expressed disappointment in his player, denounced the act, and that was that.

Indiana, of course, won the national championship last year behind a group of strong leaders headlined by Fernando Mendoza. Texas needs its stars to control their emotions if it wants to do the same.