TEXAS FIGHT?
OU's bad-boy quarterback uses Heisman win to disrespect University of Texas
John Egan
Dec 12, 2017, 10:39 am
Originally appeared on CultureMap/Austin.
University of Texas football fans now have even more of a reason to curse University of Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Visiting New York City over the weekend for the Heisman Trophy ceremony (he ran away with college football’s most prestigious honor), Mayfield just couldn’t resist flashing the derogatory “Horns Down” gesture — the upside-down version of the “Horns Up” gesture — next to the iconic bull statue on Wall Street. The Twitter account for OU football proudly blasted out a photo of Mayfield’s Longhorn diss.
Mayfield, an Austin native who graduated from Lake Travis High School, is no stranger to antagonizing UT football (or, for that matter, any other football rival). For instance, Mayfield trolled UT quarterback Sam Ehlinger in October, pointing out that Ehlinger’s Westlake High School Chaparrals failed to beat the Lake Travis Cavaliers during the UT QB’s tenure at Westlake.
As any burnt orange-blooded Longhorns fan knows, the “Horns Down” sign is an affront — especially when it’s flaunted by the QB at evil OU. “The ‘Horns Down’ is disrespectful,” Mack Brown, then UT’s head football coach, complained in 2012.
Let us not forget that Mayfield holds a Heisman-size grudge against Brown. The coach bypassed Mayfield when the QB sought to join the Longhorns as a walk-on.
Mayfield tossed a bit of a verbal “Horns Down” in his Heisman acceptance speech, too.
“Although I grew up in Austin, Texas, I was always Sooner born and Sooner bred. When I die, I’ll be Sooner dead,” Mayfield said. “I truly mean that. It’s been a dream for me. It’s an honor to get to represent my school.”
On the Baker Mayfield scale of trash talk, that was a pretty subtle dig from a guy who loves needling his enemies. As Sports Illustrated noted in November, Mayfield “delights in disrespect.”
“I think I was truly born to thrive in hostile environments,” the OU bad boy told the magazine. “I find it fun to have a little back-and-forth conversation with the opposing fan base.”
For the Houston Rockets, it's already been an exciting offseason, with the team trading for NBA superstar Kevin Durant earlier this week. The Rockets also inked extensions with big man Steven Adams and head coach Ime Udoka in recent weeks.
Apparently the action isn't slowing down as the Rockets have reportedly agreed to a contract extension with guard Fred VanVleet.
Senior ESPN NBA analyst Sham Charania is reporting that VanVleet intends to sign a 2-year, $50 million contract with Houston.
Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet intends to sign a two-year, $50 million contract to stay with the franchise, with a player option in 2026-27, sources tell ESPN. Rockets are declining VanVleet's $44.9 million team option and land the new deal with Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul. pic.twitter.com/rwtEUptBQT
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2025
Charania is also reporting that VanVleet has a player option for the 2026-2027 season.
In 60 games, VanVleet averaged just over 14 points and 5.6 assists per game last season.
This is a team-friendly deal for the Rockets that gets them below the luxury tax line, helping them avoid the repeater tax. It also opens up the full $14.1 million mid-level exception to add more talent to the roster. For VanVleet, it's more total money and an extra year of security.
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