When watching a game of fútbol, it is not uncommon to see a player fall down and feign an injury to take time off the clock and in recent years, this trend has spread to American college football. For example, in order to stop an up-tempo offensive attack, defenders that stay down on the field can stop the course of play, giving his team time to make substitutions, drink some Gatorade, and rest.

As a result, the NCAA is being forced to take action. When rule changes are implemented this year, any recommendations will be up for immediate consideration by the NCAA's Playing Rules Oversight Panel. Steve Shaw, the National Coordinator of Officials, says that there is no place for feigning injuries in the game. “It's an integrity issue,” he explained. “If you have a feigned injury, it garners an unmerited timeout for your team. We're really looking at: What's the next step to move away from that?”

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Last offseason, the rules committee attempted to solve the issue through targeted appeals. Any instances of suspected fake injuries were sent to the national officials group. If there was merit to the video, the group would speak to the guilty team's athletic director to ensure that no further instances occurred. However, without tangible consequences, players have continued to use injury-stoppage rules to their advantage. 

Coaches have also addressed the need for more effective enforcement from the NCAA. “Like anything, there has got to be a penalty for it,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said when discussing the issue earlier this year. “Really, if you want to change it, let the conference review it, look at the film, and when they deem it to be an obvious faking of an injury, then there's a penalty, a fine, and I promise you it would never happen anywhere.”

While many college coaches are calling for further regulation, the NCAA must be careful. In a sport like football where injuries commonly occur and need immediate attention, policing them will not be easy. One concern Steve Shaw has is that athletes will try to push through real injuries to avoid penalties, and we'll have to wait until fall to see how these new rules affect the game and the athletes who play it.

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* Originally published on June 8, 2022, by Chloe Singer