Billy Bowman applauds SEC allowing 'Horns Down,' calls Big 12 restrictions 'pretty soft'

Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC this upcoming college football season has come with a multitude of different topics during SEC Media Days in Dallas this week. One being the ‘Horns Down’ hand gesture that has been popularized as a taunt against the Longhorns.

Use of the Horns Down resulted in a 15-yard penalty unsportsmanlike penalty in the Big 12 Conference, but at SEC Media Days, SEC Coordinator of Officials John McDaid confirmed that Horns Down will not be considered unsportsmanlike conduct. Which Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman reacted to during Media Days on Tuesday.

“It shouldn’t be a penalty … if you let a hand signal affect you & affect the game, maybe you shouldn’t be there … allowing us to throw the horns down, that’s cool and all,” Bowman said.

“But, I mean, if it can’t be a part of the game? Pretty soft.”

Bowman’s comments were spoken like a true Sooner with hatred for Texas, words that will likely be supported by Oklahoma’s fans and frowned upon by fans of the Lonhorns.

The Hook’em Horns hand celebration is one of the most iconic and recognizable hand gestures across all of college athletics. But despite athletes and fan bases turning those horns upside down to taunt Texas for many years, there’s no question that Horns Down has taken on a life of its own.

From Texas basketball coach Rodney Terry‘s reaction to Horns Down following a game against UCF last season to those who were curious if Horns Down would be in the new College Football 25 video game, no gesture has been discussed more in recent history. Which led to McDaid’s detailed remarks regarding Horns Down and how it will be officiated in Texas’ debut season in the SEC and beyond.

“We’re going to evaluate it in context,” McDaid said. “Is it taunting an opponent? Is it making a travesty of the game? A travesty of the game is something that offends us, right? Kick it out of the football stadium, go put in a shopping mall or out in a parking lot somewhere. Well, does it offend someone? Then it’s probably making a travesty of the game.”

“If a player is just doing it to celebrate with his teammates, maybe going back up the sideline after a touchdown or interception, I don’t necessarily have that as a travesty. I don’t have that directed at his opponent,” McDaid explained. “So it’s contextual.”