Ruling on 'Horns Down' Taunt Brings Ex-Cal WR Chad Hansen to Mind

Big 12 addressed the taunt to Texas football this week. Would the gesture by Golden Bears receiver have resulted in a penalty?

A football rules interpretation this week involving the “Horns Down” sign made by Texas opponents brought to mind former Cal wide receiver Chad Hansen.

You may wonder how Hansen, who played at Cal in 2015 and 2016 and recently signed to play the 2021 season with the Detroit Lions, could be connected to a Big 12 ruling on a taunt hated by Longhorn fans.

Well, follow along.

On Thursday, at Big 12 football media day, Greg Burks, the Big 12 coordinator of football officials, was asked whether a penalty would be called if Texas opponents used “Horns Down” hand sign after a score since it could easily be construed as a taunt and mocks the Longhorns’ “Hook ‘em Horns” celebration sign, shown here:

Photo by Amy Kontras, USA TODAY Sports

“If you do a Horns Down to a Texas player as an opponent, that’s probably going to be a foul,” Burks said, according to a USA Today story. “If you turn to the crowd and do a Horns Down … it will probably not be a foul.”

So how does that involve Hansen?

Well, Cal played Texas in two riveting, high-scoring games in 2015 and 2016, and Cal won both. It was in the second encounter, at Berkeley in 2016, that Hansen caught what would become the game-winning touchdown pass with less than four minutes left in a 50-43 upset of the 11^th-ranked Longhorns.

Hansen’s celebration for the score was a blatant “Horns Down” hand sign, as seen here:

Here is a slow-motion replay of Hansen’s "Horns Down" sign. Would Cal have been penalized for that gesture under this week’s interpretation? Is Hansen taunting a Texas player? Or is he sharing the moment with his teammates and Cal fans?

Former Cal tight end Stephen Anderson, now with the Los Angeles Chargers, reminds us in a tweet that Cal had used the Horns Down sign in the 2015 upset of Texas on the road, too.

A week after the 2016 win over Texas, Hansen mocked the "Forks Up" sign of the Arizona State Sun Devils, as demonstrated by golfer Jon Rahm, an Arizona State alumnus:

Photo by Joe Camporeale, USA TODAY Sports

Hansen caught a touchdown pass from Jared Goff in that game in Tucson to give the Bears a 14-3 lead, so Hansen gave a Forks Down sign to the ASU crowd.

However, Cal lost that game 51-41 despite Hansen’s 10 catches for 110 yards.

It's best to taunt in victory.