The Southeastern Conference this week announced a $50,000 fine for Texas A&M University after the National Coordinator for Football Officiating reviewed a fourth-quarter incident that involved defensive back Tyreek Chappell faking an injury at the direction of coaches and staff.
According to CBS Sports, the faked injury occurred at the 12-minute mark of the fourth quarter when Arkansas was just ten yards shy of a touchdown that could have given the Razorbacks the lead. After the play, Chappell “went to the ground after coaches on the A&M sideline [were] signaling demonstratively to the player, pointing to the ground.”
Upon review of the previous play and the moment that Chappell went down, the SEC and the National Coordinator found that he had not been contacted. Final ruling? Chappell faked the injury at the direction of head coach Mike Elko.
Texas A&M is the first college team to be fined for fake injuries this season, and if it happens again, the Aggies could be facing a $100,000 fine. A third violation would result in a one-game suspension for Elko.
Prior to the Aggies, college football’s fake injury penalty had yet to be put to the test. Sporting News reported that the fake injury penalty rules place the responsibility on the officials to determine if a student-athlete is truly injured or faking it for an extra time out. If officials were to rule that the injury was fake, the team would be charged a timeout. If the team has no timeouts remaining, the officials would assess a delay of game penalty to the team. The injured player is required to sit on the bench for at least the next down, which Chappell did not.
Steve Shaw, the NCAA secretary rules editor said, “The mission of the Rules Committee is to develop and evaluate rules changes that will enhance the sport, protect the image of the game, and enhance the student athlete's health and safety. Player safety has been the highest priority of the committee for many years now resulting in significant changes that have improved the game in terms of mitigating injuries.”
