Texas football: Big 12 Officials: 'Horns down' isn't a penalty, unless it is

Conference officials still in murky waters when it comes to controversial hand gesture

In 1964 Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said of obscenity, "I'll know it when I see it".

It seems to be the same approach the Big 12 conference is taking in regards to the infamous 'Horns Down' hand gesture. 

"The answer I will give you is 'it depends,' Big 12 coordinator of officials Greg Burks said on Tuesday morning during Big 12 Media Days. "It's like any unsportsmanlike act. If someone scores quickly, turns to their cheering section and it's quick and they  move on, were' not going to do anything with that. If it's to a bench or another player, and it's prolonged, it would be an unsportsmanlike act. Like any play, theres a degree, who it's directed at."

In other words the 'horns down' gesture itself isn't considered unsportsmanlike in its nature, but when used as a taunt toward opposing fans or players, it becomes one. 

"People want us to be definitive on that, but it's just like any touchdown celebration," Burks said. 

Except it isn't. The 'horns down' gesture has been at the center of discussion in Big 12 circles for years and became an even bigger hot-button issue last year after West Virginia quarterback Will Grier was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty while celebrating what would be a game-winning two-point conversion to upset Texas at home last year. 

For the record, Burks thinks the officials got that call right. 

"That would probably be a foul in that situation," Burks said. "When we have discussed it, by rule, anything that's prolonged to bring attention to the individual rather than the team is a foul."

 In other words, signaling the gesture puts that player's fate at the discretion of an official, but unlike Justice Stewart in 1964, that decision will have to be made in a matter of seconds. Often surrounded by nearly 100,000 screaming fans.