Texas defensive end Colin Simmons addressed the controversial celebration that followed his sack against Tennessee on Saturday, acknowledging afterward that he should not have gone that far.
“I apologize for the celebration,” Simmons said in his postgame press conference. “I was definitely in that mode, feeling myself, but it happen,” he added.
Colin Simmons drops one-word clarification
Simmons also responded to the incident on social media after former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel weighed in. Manziel posted a question about the celebration, tweeting, “Did Colin Simmons just piss on a guy after a sack?”
Simmons later came across the post and responded with a brief “No” accompanied by a distorted-face emoji, appearing to react to the question.
Unusual celebration draws flag
The incident occurred in the second quarter while Tennessee was attempting to keep its drive alive. Simmons came up with a crucial third-and-13 sack that appeared to stop the Volunteers’ possession, but his celebration immediately changed the situation.
Simmons appeared to mimic unzipping his pants and urinating on the field, prompting officials to throw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. The referee clarified the reason for the penalty by announcing, “Unsportsmanlike conduct, defense No. 1,” before adding, “For simulating using the restroom.”
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The penalty extended Tennessee’s possession and turned what initially looked like a major defensive stop into an unusual sequence.
The unusual celebration also drew strong criticism from the broadcast crew. “Just an absolute idiotic move by Colin Simmons doing that,” Kirk Herbstreit said. Chris Fowler agreed, calling it “idiotic” and saying the celebration was particularly vulgar.
Sarkisian addresses Simmons’ celebration
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian also addressed Simmons’ actions after the game and made it clear that the celebration was not acceptable.
“Can’t happen. That’s a bad football play,” Sarkisian said.
Sarkisian explained that Simmons was briefly removed from the game so the coaching staff could address the situation before allowing him to return.
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“We took him out, we addressed it and put him back in,” Sarkisian said. “At that point I’m not going to give the guy the death penalty over an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. We have to fix it. That can’t continue as we move forward,” the Texas coach added.
