Texas has announced that they will not allow Reveille X, the mascot of the Texas A&M Aggies, to be on the field for Friday's Lone Star Showdown game between the Longhorns and the Aggies. This shocking move was first reported by Texas A&M's Barstool affiliate before being confirmed by Robert Behrens and Brian Davis.
Davis, who used to work for the University of Texas, referenced the fact that the Aggies did not allow Bevo onto Kyle Field last year in his confirmation of the report, but as Behrens pointed out, this was because there simply wasn't room on the sideline after the 2014 renovation of Kyle— and that was the first time the Longhorns had played there since then.
Behrens put it well in that follow-up tweet: "One decision looks to be logistical. The other looks to be out of spite." Petty spitefulness defines any good college football rivalry, of course, but this one is really a bridge too far.
Texas bars Texas A&M mascot Reveille X from taking the field with Aggies on Friday
There is no logistical reason that Reveille should not be able to be on the field with the Aggies this Friday, of course— it's simply the same old Texas thinking they should be treated differently than everyone else, when they've done nothing to deserve such treatment.
Aggie fans tried to warn this entire conference about the way Texas acts even before they joined the SEC, but now everyone is finding it out for themselves. Even in little things, where it would cost them nothing, Texas decides to be as pointlessly cruel as possible.
Whether sticking opposing bands in the nosebleeds, trashing their own field until they get a call overturned, or denying opposing mascots the right to be on the sideline, this is a program that is simply cancerous. The sooner the SEC is rid of them, the better.
Maybe they'll come to their senses and reverse this decision, but I wouldn't expect them to all of a sudden act like good people. There's a long track record of the exact opposite with that school.