Texas' Terry apologizes for criticizing UCF players' 'horns down' signs

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas coach Rodney Terry apologized Saturday after his team beat No. 9 Baylor for how he reacted earlier in the week when he saw some Central Florida players do a “horns down” hand sign in the moments after the Knights beat the Longhorns on their home court.

Terry had called the actions by UCF players “classless" and confronted several of them in the postgame line for handshakes. The “horns down” hand sign has long been used by Texas rivals, and Terry's comments were widely criticized across social media.

“I had no intention of trying to show up anyone, or offend anyone in terms of what occurred at the end of that game,” Terry said.

He described UCF coach Johnny Dawkins as “a really good friend of mine.”

"He has a good program and they're having a good year. Personally, if I offended him or his program, or anyone for that matter, that was not my intention," Terry said.

“We have a lot of passion for who we are and what we are representing. We try to do that in a class manner, at the highest level,” Terry said. “If I offended some of our fans as well in not handling myself in the right way ... I apologize to our fan base as well, and understand what it means to be the head coach at the University of Texas and what our brand stands for.”

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball