Ole Miss plans to eliminate suspicions of feigned injuries

Ole Miss plans to address complaints about players' feigned injuries and is in contact with the SEC and national football coordinator Steve Shaw on the issue.

In a statement released Friday, Ole Miss acknowledged that its team has drawn attention in the national discussion about “faked injuries” at games this season. The team said it had “provided relevant medical information” to Shaw and would answer questions about recent incidents in games.

“We have also updated the SEC office and our head coach will communicate with our coaches and players to ensure we are conducting ourselves appropriately and compliant on this matter,” the team said.

A number of Ole Miss players briefly remained on the field after plays during last week's game at South Carolina, raising suspicions that the Rebels were trying to keep the momentum going for the Gamecocks' offense in a 27-3 win To suppress Ole Miss.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, when asked about the incidents, said he hoped the Ole Miss players who were out were OK, adding: “I have my own problems. We just got our asses kicked 27-3. But it's fascinating to me to see.” How many injuries occur to them after the opposing offense gets a first down or makes a big play?

Beamer added: “The timing of some of the injuries – things are looking really bad for college football.”

LSU coach Brian Kelly, whose team hosts No. 9 Ole Miss on Saturday night, referenced the SEC's sportsmanship policy on feigned injuries.

“If an intentional action involved feigning injuries, the SEC would take action,” Kelly said this week. “I can leave it to the SEC and let them evaluate it. … The (game) officials shouldn’t be involved. That's not their jurisdiction. You have to referee a game. You don’t get to decide who is hurt or who isn’t hurt.”

In 2022, the NCAA announced that teams could report “questionable scenarios” for review to the office's national coordinator, who would then communicate with conference offices to discuss possible action.