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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Ole Miss plans to address complaints about fake injuries with players and has been in contact with the SEC and national coordinator for football officiating Steve Shaw about the issue.
In a statement released Friday, Ole Miss acknowledged that its team has received attention in the national discussion around “feigned injuries” during games this season. The team said that it has “provided relevant medical information” for Shaw to review and will 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 conduct ourselves properly and are compliant in this matter,” the statement reads.
A number of Ole Miss players remained briefly down on the field after plays during last week’s game at South Carolina, raising suspicion that the Rebels were trying to stifle momentum for the South Carolina offense in a 27-3 Ole Miss win. Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer, asked about the incidents, said he hoped Ole Miss players who went down were OK, while adding, “I got my own problems. We just got our butts kicked 27-3. But it’s fascinating to me to see how many injuries occur for them after the opposing offense makes a first down or makes a big play.”
Beamer added: “The timing on some of the injuries — it’s a really bad look for college football.”
LSU coach Brian Kelly, whose team hosts No. 9 Ole Miss on Saturday night, referred to the SEC sportsmanship policy about fake injuries.
“If there was any faking of injuries in a deliberate action, the SEC would take action on that,” Kelly said this week. “I can leave that up to the SEC and let them evaluate that. … The [game] officials shouldn’t be involved in it. That’s not their purview, they got to officiate a game. They can’t decide who is injured or who is not injured.”
In 2022, the NCAA announced that teams would be able to report “questionable scenarios” to the national coordinator of officiating for review, who then would communicate with conference offices for potential action.