The SEC is cracking down on fake injuries.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent a memo out to all teams last Friday afternoon.
“As plainly as it can be stated: Stop any and all activity related to faking injuries to create time-outs,” Sankey wrote, via ESPN. And ended his memo with, “Play football and stop the feigned injury nonsense.”
Several teams have blatantly faked injuries in order to create timeouts. But with the fines put in place by Sankey, hopefully, we’ll see less of them.
Per Sankey’s memo, for the first offense, a head coach will receive a public reprimand and be fined $50,000; for the second offense, another public reprimand along with a $100,000 fine; for a third offense, a reprimand and a next-games suspension.
The memo and new punishment put in place couldn’t be more perfect timing as the Georgia Bulldogs get ready to take on Ole Miss, who blatantly faked an injury against Kentucky earlier this season.
As for the Bulldogs, they are at least one SEC team that has not fallen into the fake injury nonsense. And head coach Kirby Smart made it very clear this week that they won’t be having to address that issue further down the road.
“I respect Commissioner Sankey and what he sends out,” Smart said. “We don’t condone that on our team or within our program. So we don’t have to address it. We just keep telling them that if you’re injured, you stay down.
flow of the game and maintain fairness. One recent development that has caught the attention of fans, particularly in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), is the new penalty for teams that are caught faking injuries. This move aims to curb the strategy of players pretending to be injured to stop the clock, especially when a team is trying to slow down a high-tempo offense.
However, Kirby Smart, head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, has assured Georgia fans that the new punishment will not be an issue for his team. Here’s why.
Understanding the New Rule
The SEC’s new rule, which went into effect for the 2024 season, mandates a penalty for teams whose players fake injuries to disrupt the flow of the game. Under the new regulation, if a player is suspected of faking an injury, the team will be assessed a 15-yard penalty, and the player involved may be forced to sit out for at least one play. The hope is to reduce the instances of players going down with “injuries” simply to stop the clock or disrupt the momentum of the opposing offense.
This rule is specifically aimed at curbing the practice often seen when teams face up-tempo offenses that are designed to quicken the pace of the game. While the rule is aimed at ensuring fairness, some have raised concerns about how it could affect teams who rely on strategic play-calling, and how strictly it will be enforced.
Kirby Smart’s Confidence in Georgia’s Approach
Kirby Smart, who has led Georgia to multiple successful seasons, expressed confidence that the Bulldogs would not be negatively impacted by this new rule. In a recent interview, Smart was clear: “We don’t teach that kind of behavior here. Our guys are focused on football, not on trying to find loopholes in the system.”
Smart’s comments reflect the discipline and integrity that have been hallmarks of his coaching philosophy at Georgia. Over the years, Smart has built a reputation for running a well-organized, fundamentally sound team that focuses on winning through effort, execution, and toughness—qualities that don’t lend themselves to faking injuries.
“Football is about competing at a high level,” Smart continued. “We want our players to stay healthy, but we want them to be smart, and we want them to play the game the right way. That’s always been our focus, and I don’t see that changing because of this rule.”
A Culture of Integrity
For Georgia, Smart’s commitment to integrity means that the team doesn’t need to worry about the penalty
And if you’re not, you get up and go play. That’s our philosophy.”
