Saturday’s ESPN College GameDay broadcast in Texas was marred by a vile sign mocking the death of former Longhorns player Jake Ehlinger.
Before the highly-anticipated Lone Star showdown between Texas and Texas A&M, a fan could be seen holding up the sign in the background of the weekly college football program, which was being filmed in College Station ahead of the game.
As well as Ehlinger, who died in May 2021 after what his family claimed was an accidental overdose of Xanax laced with Fentanyl, the sign also referenced Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian’s well-documented struggles with alcoholism.
It stated that Ehlinger ‘should’ve joined Sark @ rehab’ before listing a phone number for a California rehabilitation center.
DailyMail.com has reached out to ESPN for comment.
After a photo of the disgusting sign went viral on social media, Longhorns safety Michael Taafe – who was close friends with Ehlinger – addressed it in his postgame press conference.
Saturday’s ESPN College GameDay broadcast in Texas was marred by a vile sign mocking the death of former Longhorns player Jake Ehlinger (pictured)
‘I want to say I feel sorry for the person that posted that sign,’ Taaffe said. ‘I feel sorry for him because I don’t know what he’s going through, how much he’s dealing with in life.
‘To think that that was a good idea, to think that was OK, to think that was appropriate for anything, no matter what rivalry. I just wanted to make that clear.’
Taaffe also commented on the accuracy of the sign: ‘Jake Ehlinger didn’t die because he overdosed. He got drugged. He got poisoned. He didn’t die because he overdosed.
‘So I want everybody to know that he was poisoned and he loved this team so much and I wish that he could be a part of this, but he was drugged. He was not overdosed. He was not a drug addict by any means. I want to make that very clear.’
Texas went on to secure a 17-7 win over Texas A&M on the day, and Taaffe admitted that the sign about Ehlinger gave him extra motivation to get one over on their rival.
‘In rivalry games, fans try to get under your skin and I was aware of that. I’d be lying to say that it didn’t get to me a little bit. It took a lot out of me to not do anything out of emotion,’ he continued.
‘I try to preach to myself to not do anything based off emotions because that’s when you start making bad decisions, it’s when your emotions take over.’
Taaffe also wore a pocket square with Ehlinger’s No. 48 on it as he walked into the stadium on Saturday night as a tribute to his former teammate and friend.
The late 20-year-old, who was the younger brother of former Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger, did not feature in his two seasons at Texas after arriving as a walk-on from Westlake High School.
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