SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Warns Teams to ‘Stop the Fake Injury Nonsense’

SEC Enough with players falling and feigning injury to stop the clock.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey sent a letter to league coaches and athletic directors urging teams to “cease all activities related to injury simulation create timeouts.” Yahoo Sports was the first to report the letter.

“Play football and stop the fake injury nonsense,” Sankey wrote.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adjusted its rules governing simulated injuries, giving it more power to punish teams and changing its review process.

Before the rules were adjusted, teams had to submit a video to the national coordinator for review. The SEC’s office can now request a video review if necessary.

For the first time a false injury is discovered on a team, the head coach will receive a public reprimand and a financial penalty of $50,000 will be imposed.

For a second occurrence of a feigned injury on a team, the head coach will be publicly reprimanded and subject to a financial penalty of $100,000.

For a team’s third report of feigning injury and any subsequent findings, the head coach will receive a public reprimand and the team will be suspended from the next competition.

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If any other employee is found to have participated in flagging, encouraging, or directing the feigned abuse, that individual will be subject to the same penalties set forth in this memorandum, including public reprimand, financial penalties, and suspension.

If a student-athlete is held accountable for faking an injury, he may also be subject to public shaming.

A false report of injury may be overturned if medical information is provided to show that the player was forced to stop playing due to injury.

“When defending against a rush offense, you must use designated team timeouts if you need to stop the play, or you can allow the play to continue with personnel and defensive play,” Sankey wrote. “On offense, if the game clock is running out, you must use a team timeout or accept a deferment of the game penalty.

“Calling injury timeouts under these circumstances is unacceptable and disrespectful to the game of college football.”

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The rule changes follow controversy surrounding Ole Miss players feigned injuries when the team actually released a statement on the matter.

“Fake injuries have become a prominent topic in college football, and we recognize that our program has been part of that discussion. We contacted the National Coordinator of Football Refereeing and provided him with relevant medical information to answer questions about recent injuries. “, the message says.

During the Ole Miss game against South Carolina in October Payton Titus from The State noted that the Rebels had double-digit injury stoppages, including some players going down more than once.

The problem was noticed during the dismal loss to Ole Miss. in Kentucky September 28. Cameras caught quarterback Jackson Dart gesturing for his running back Matt Jones to fall to the ground and feign injury to stop the play.

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Players faking injuries have become a source of frustration for opposing coaches.

“First of all, I hope all these guys are okay… I have my own problems. We just got our asses kicked 27-3. or he has a big game,” South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said in his postgame press conference.

Sankey’s letter comes as the race for a spot in the College Football Playoff heats up, with four SEC teams currently ranked in the top 12.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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