Last weekend, Colin Simmons and Raleek Brown drew significant attention to themselves and the Texas football program, with the bad press outweighing the good. Athletic director Chris Del Conte is adamant that players only cast the university in a positive light moving forward. In the first half of No. 1 Texas' win over Tennessee, Simmons got to Volunteers quarterback Faizon Brandon for one of the program's record 5.5 sacks before pretending to urinate on the field.
Not only did that draw a flag, but it drew plenty of negative press over the next few days. Later in the game, after his fourth-quarter touchdown run, Brown pretended to wipe his groin before bringing it to his face and falling backward. Fortunately for the Horns, that celebration was not flagged, but it did get noticed by everyone watching at home.
In his weekly Forty Acres Insider newsletter, Del Conte didn't mince words when condemning the vulgar celebrations. "I'm not happy about that," Del Conte wrote. "I know none of us are, and it was embarrassing to our proud and widely respected football team, athletics program and university.
It certainly raised very warranted concerns that many of you shared with me, drew a lot of attention, and I understand why." Del Conte added that such actions will not be tolerated by the football program or the university, and he also supported Steve Sarkisian's strong stance against them. "As he said, it is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," Del Conte wrote. "The message is clear -- the players' conduct did not reflect the values of Texas Athletics or our university and cannot happen again." In his postgame press conference, Sarkisian stressed the importance of better decisions from his players, explaining that his coaching staff pulled Simmons from the game for a few plays after the penalty.
It's something Sarkisian knows must get corrected. "We took him out, we addressed it, and we put him back in," Sarkisian said after the game. "At that point, you know what I mean, I'm not going to 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." Simmons later apologized for his actions, saying he got caught up in the emotions of the game. "I do want to say I apologize for the celebration," Simmons said.
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