#127: The media allowed Arch Manning to feel comfortable joking about domestic violence

It was refreshing being in Philadelphia 10 days ago. I don't exactly love the city, spending a ton of time there while working with hospitals from around the state at a previous role.

Now, one of my favorite days each year happens in Philadelphia.

At Citizen's Bank Park, in fact.

At my day job, I'm the Director of Communications for a statewide domestic violence coalition in Pennsylvania. While we've had a partnership with the Phillies for 20-plus years – and had one with the Pirates, too – it has really ramped up over the last six years.

After the Phillies not just had a player who violated the league's domestic violence policy, but re-signed him, we started to have difficult conversations with them.

They asked the simple question: how can we be better and do better?

We let them know that this wasn't a PR lift. That if we were going to work with them, they needed to put in the work.

Put in the work they have, as they host an annual Domestic Violence Awareness Night at the park.

My colleagues and I go. We give away hundreds of free tickets to our programs and the people who are on the ground doing the work each and every day.

We collect items for survivors from fans. We have mirror clings up about safety resources. The players, coaches, broadcasters, and public-facing staff wear our shirts all night (the players during batting practice).

We recently partnered with Joe Torre's organization, Safe at Home, as he is open about his story growing up with an abusive father.

It's just nice to be around people who care, who want to be better, who want to do better, and who care for survivors.

It's a great partnership, and it's one that I'm hoping to expand within the state with the Eagles, the Sixers, the WNBA team, and even Unrivaled.

But Monday was a reminder of how far we have to go still.

See, after Texas came back to beat Ohio State on Saturday night, Holly Rowe, ESPN's long-time sideline reporter, was waiting to get a word in with Steve Sarkisian.

He blew her off instead.

Awful Announcing (@awful_announcing) on Threads

The Steve Sarkisian postgame interview with Holly Rowe was quite brief.

Threads

That's bad enough.

But it's not worse than what happened Monday during Texas' media availability.

When Arch Manning, the quarterback for the Longhorns was at the podium, he was asked about Sark blowing off Rowe.

He said, "I saw a few AI edits and stuff. Have y'all seen that one? Of him slapping Holly Rowe?"

It's bad enough that Manning said this. That he said it while laughing. That he turns his head to the Communications Director off-camera trying to get him to stop saying stupid shit.

But what's infuriating is that it was a room filled with reporters and journalists – at least that's what they are pretending to be – laughing at this.

Carrying on. Encouraging it.

It went as far as the reporter who asked him, Evan Vieth of Inside Texas, saying that Manning's answer was "gold."

What, exactly, is gold about this, Evan?

Is it the AI of it all, or is it the violence against women?

Why, Evan, did you and your many other male reporters in the room, not follow-up and ask Arch what was funny about it or gold about it?

I'm not going to post the video. It's degrading. It's disgusting. It's harmful.

It's normalized.

It's normalized to see the violence against women each and every day.

It's normalized to have players who actually commit these acts still playing a sport. There's a whole conversation that can take place about second chances and if that person is the breadwinner, the ramifications of taking away the means from a victim and their children.

Those convos take place when someone is apologetic. When they want to learn. When they want to get better.

That's not the case with Miles Bridges. Or Marcell Ozuna. Or Kevin Porter Jr. Or Chris Brown, who just got the fucking Congressional Record while in, well, Texas.

What also normalizes it is that the reporters within the Texas press conference allowed Manning to feel comfortable to joke about that. For them to join in with the laughter. Calling it fucking gold.

It's harmful. It's dangerous. And it's reason No. 2,376 that survivors don't come forward.

So much of journalism today is access journalism. Ways to stay in the good graces with teams, players, and programs so that they can get the stories that they want.

We've seen what happens when reporting can hurt a publication (looking at you, TCU).

If there was an actual journalist in that room, they would have asked Manning what was funny about it?

It's shameful on his part. He's 22 and, despite his family, he has work to do with his media training.

But it's even more shameful of the media in that room that allowed him to feel comfortable enough to joke about that.

Be better. Do better.