On September 26, 2026, No. 1 Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian blamed the media and Twitter for defensive end Colin Simmons’ vulgar unsportsmanlike conduct penalty—simulating urinating on the field after a sack against No. 14 Tennessee—defending the player by criticizing modern social media culture.
The Incident in Knoxville and On-Field Fallout
The No. 1 Texas Longhorns secured a hard-fought win against the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville on Saturday, September 27, 2026, holding off a late charge from the hosts. However, the game could have been far less stressful had defensive end Colin Simmons maintained his composure after a massive defensive play.
With Texas holding a 10–3 lead in the second quarter, Simmons brought down Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon deep in Volunteers territory, forcing what should have been a routine fourth down. Instead of celebrating with teammates, Simmons pantomimed unzipping his pants and urinating on the field. The vulgar display immediately drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag, handing Tennessee a free first down.
Refereeing crews were left dealing with the unusual infraction, explaining to the stadium that the penalty was for “simulating using the restroom.” Broadcasters Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler expressed swift disappointment on the air, with Herbstreit calling the maneuver “an absolute idiotic move” and Fowler echoing that it “doesn’t get much more vulgar, either.”
Steve Sarkisian’s Response and the Tech-Society Critique
Fortunately for Texas, the Volunteers failed to capitalize on the gifted field position, moving past midfield before stalling out. When questioned after the game about how he managed Simmons on the sidelines, Sarkisian detailed his immediate disciplinary steps.
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“We took him out. We addressed it, and put him back in,” Sarkisian stated. “I’m not gonna give the guy the death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. We’ve got to fix it though. That can’t continue as we move forward.”
Rather than solely focusing on football discipline, Sarkisian took a sharp detour to critique the digital ecosystem. He argued that Simmons’s behavior was a symptom of a broader societal affliction tied directly to online platforms.
“Unfortunately, in our society right now, we live in the ‘look at me’ society,” Sarkisian said. “All of you guys have your Twitter accounts, and as fast as you can type something because you want everyone to look at your account, and you get clicks. Well, that’s the world that we live in. So we’ve got to get to—it’s about the team and focus on the team, and not so much ‘look at me.’ So we’ll try to improve upon that, but five sacks was pretty cool today too.”
While Sarkisian’s cultural critique leaned heavily on the platform’s former branding by continuing to call it Twitter, his underlying message highlighted a persistent tension between individual viral ambitions and collective team execution.
Player Accountability and Upcoming Stakes
Addressing the media post-game, Simmons offered an apology while acknowledging that he let the adrenaline of the moment dictate his actions on the field.
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“I do want to say, I apologize for the celebration,” Simmons said. “I was definitely in that mode, feeling myself, but you know, it happens.”
When asked how coaching staff handled the penalty in real-time on the sidelines, Simmons noted that the team quickly pivoted back to operational focus: “Next play mentality. Move on.”
With six of their remaining eight regular-season opponents currently ranked, the Longhorns cannot afford self-inflicted mistakes that hand opponents free momentum.
