Texas A&M is reportedly the first SEC team to receive a fine from the conference for violating its policy on players faking injuries.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M Football is being fined by the SEC over allegations of players faking injuries during games.
The SEC issued a statement saying A&M was found in violation of NCAA playing rules about players faking injuries. The ruling is reportedly in response to a play in the fourth quarter of A&M’s game against Arkansas on Saturday, Oct. 18, when cornerback Tyreek Chappell sat down on the field to stop play after the ball had been spotted.
Texas A&M faces a $50,000 fine from the conference over the alleged violation, and is reportedly the first SEC team to be fined for violating the injury policy.
According to the SEC, video of the incident was reviewed by the National Coordinator of Football Officiating. The conference said the incident happened with 12:55 left in the game after Arkansas completed a pass for a first down near the A&M 10-yeard line. After the ball is spotted, the SEC said Chappell goes to the ground “creating the appearance of an injury.”
The conference said just before Chappell goes down, a Texas A&M staff member can be seen signaling to Chappell and pointing to the ground. The conference added that Chappell had no contact during the play and returned to the game on the second play of the next defensive possession.
“As determined by the National Coordinator, the action by player, especially with the concurrent action by the coach in the team area, is a clear attempt to gain an unmerited advantage by stopping the game to be awarded an injury time out,” The SEC said in a statement. “The action violates the spirit of the injury timeout and fair play and was conducted in a manner that appears to attempt to circumvent the NCAA’s injury time out rule to avoid the team being charged a time out.”
The SEC issued a reprimand to head coach Mike Elko and is assessing a fine of $50,000 for the violation. According to the conference, a second feigned injury will result in a $100,000 fine, and any beyond that will result in Elko’s suspension for the next game.
Texas A&M Football issued a response to the finding from coach Elko.
“We respect the SEC’s decision and understand the importance of upholding the integrity of the game,” the statement reads. “While we accept the ruling, we do not agree with the decision and want to be clear that we never coach or instruct our players to feign injury. Texas A&M Football remains firmly committed to the highest standards of sportsmanship, competitiveness and integrity. We’ll use this as an opportunity to review our processes and ensure we continue to represent our great university and the SEC with class and accountability.”