2024-10-21 12:25:03
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Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff Writer
The Texas Longhorns, after issuing an apology earlier Sunday, were fined $250,000 by the Southeastern Conference for fans throwing trash onto the field after a controversial pass interference call during Saturday’s 30-15 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday night.
The SEC said the fine was for “interrupting the competitive opportunity for both teams and endangering contest participants.” It also requires Texas to “use all available resources” — including security, stadium and television video — to identify those who threw trash onto the field or at the Bulldogs — and prohibit them from attending Texas athletics events for the remainder of the academic year.
The SEC said it would not suspend alcohol sales privileges for Texas, but the conference reserves the right to do so if requirements are not met.
“The throwing of debris and resulting interruption of play that took place Saturday night cannot be part of any SEC event,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said.
Earlier Sunday, Texas issued an apology to Georgia, the game officials and to the SEC for the behavior of its fans.
“While we deeply appreciate the passion and loyalty of our fan base at The University of Texas at Austin, we do not condone the unsportsmanlike conduct that was exhibited by some individuals throwing objects onto the field during last night’s game and sincerely apologize to the University of Georgia players, coaches, and fans, as well as the Southeastern Conference and officiating crew,” said a statement from Texas Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife, UT president Jay Hartzell and athletic director Chris Del Conte.
“This type of behavior will not be tolerated.”
Trailing 23-8 in the third quarter, Texas safety Jahdae Barron stepped in front of Georgia’s Arian Smith and intercepted a pass, returning it 36 yards to the Georgia 9 and giving Texas new life. Officials called pass interference on Barron, however, and the 15-yard penalty was marked off.
Texas fans booed the call while watching multiple replays on the stadium’s videoboard, and trash started streaming down onto the field from near the student section, stopping play for a few minutes. While Texas coach Steve Sarkisian walked all the way to the 10-yard line to tell fans to stop, staff members and security cleaned up the bottles as officials conferred again.
“I understand the frustration,” Sarkisian said after the game. “We all were frustrated in the moment. But, you know … all of Longhorn Nation, I know we can be better than that.”
The call was overturned after the stoppage, which raised concerns that the behavior actually helped the Longhorns.
“Now we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after the game. “And that’s unfortunate because, to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want, and that’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.”
In a statement early Sunday morning, the SEC said officials “gathered to discuss the play, which is permitted to ensure the proper penalty is enforced.”
Early Sunday morning, Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said in a post on X that he was “disappointed and frustrated” with how the call was reversed.
“Disagreeing with a singular call is natural and will happen several times in every football game. I can accept that,” Brooks said in his post. “What I cannot accept is the manner in which this specific call was reversed. The official claimed he erred in the call. My question is when did he realize the error?
“If it was before the delay that occurred due to fans throwing objects on the field, what stopped him before the head official made the announcement and spotted the ball? I have faith we, as a conference, will learn from this and get better. We must, because in the SEC it just means more.”
The SEC said the handling of the penalty was incorrect, but the reaction should have been prevented.
“While the original evaluation and assessment of the penalty was not properly executed, it is unacceptable to have debris thrown on the field at any time,” the league said.
In 2021, the SEC fined the Volunteers $250,000 after fans threw objects on the field in Lane Kiffin’s return against Tennessee, where he had formerly coached. Fans threw bottles, cans and other projectiles at the Ole Miss sideline, including a golf ball that hit Kiffin. Tennessee had just been stopped on fourth down after a questionable spot by officials.
The SEC said it will require Texas to review its game management procedures and alcohol availability policies and provide a report to the league office on how it identified and penalized offenders and its plan to prevent future incidents.
“We appreciate the support of Longhorn Nation and are confident that, moving forward, we will continue to represent our university with pride and respect,” the statement said.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
