NCAA bars anthem singer from College World Series for ‘offensive’ Horns Down gesture
One may look at the Oklahoma softball team’s dominant run to the Women’s College World Series title as validation that they are a juggernaut.
The Sooners swept Texas by a combined score of 26-6 in two games, but to be fair, the Longhorns players may have been scarred by the sight of Zac Collier.
Collier sang the national anthem during the Women’s College World Series, and he flashed the Horns Down symbol that nearly everyone has no issue with. Well, outside of Austin, Texas.
That drew the ire of the NCAA, which informed Collier he was no longer invited to sing the anthem at the College World Series in Omaha.
“Due to the unsportsmanlike behavior shown after your performance at the Women’s College World Series, we need to go a different direction,” the NCAA wrote in an email to Collier. “You are no longer scheduled to perform Game 9 of the Men’s College World Series.”
Collier asked why he’d been booted from his scheduled anthem performance.
The response from the NCAA: “We have documented proof that he made offensive gestures and mockery of a participating team at the Women’s College World Series and we do not feel comfortable allowing him to perform.”
Collier posted the email exchange on his Facebook page.
ESPN reported Collier is a 27-year-old U.S.. history teacher in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and a Texas A&M alumnus. Even though he lives in Texas, Collier doesn’t think Horns Down should disqualify him from his scheduled performance.
“I’m a neutral party and showing my support or lack of support for a certain team after the anthem, I can see how somebody could be upset with that,” Collier told ESPN. “But the reason I posted wasn’t because I was upset that they said, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t have done that.’ It was because they called the Horns Down an offensive gesture. They said I mocked the other team. Those words specifically, are why I posted about it. Saying that I’m making a mockery of a participating team because I put a Horns Down is ridiculous.”
The NCAA explained its decision to USA Today and confirmed Collier was disinvited from performing.
“The performance of the national anthem during NCAA championship events is a solemn moment for reflection and mutual respect for all championship participants and fans in attendance,” the NCAA said. “Following his national anthem performance during the Women’s College World Series — during which the performer inappropriately supported one participating team, taunted the other team, and disrupted participating student-athletes and coaches by attempting to interact with them — he was asked not to perform during the Men’s College World Series.”
However, video of his performance at the Women’s College World Series doesn’t show Collier interacting with anyone after his performance.
This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 10:07 AM.
