COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Texas A&M Football was fined $50,000 by the SEC for violating the conference's policy on players faking injuries in games, during its recent matchup against Arkansas.
Texas A&M was found in violation of the NCAA rules surrounding feigning, or faking, an injury. The player and play in question - during the fourth quarter with 12:36 left in the game of the Aggies against Arkansas on Saturday, when defensive back Tyreek Chappell sat down on the field to stop play after the ball was already spotted.
According to ESPN, Texas A&M is the first SEC football program to receive this fine from the conference.
The national coordinator of football officials, Steve Shaw, reviewed video submitted by the SEC of the situation and before Chappell went down, a Texas A&M staff member can be seen on video standing near the 25-yard line signaling to Chappell and pointing to the ground.
"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 conference said in its release. "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."
ESPN reports that Chappell had no contact during the previous play and was showing no signs of injury until he sat down and pointed to his right leg. Texas A&M was then flagged and charged a timeout because Chappell presented as injured after the ball was spotted.
Chappell then returned to the game on the second play of Arkansas' next offensive drive.
Below is a statement Texas A&M Football released in response to the SEC ruling:
"We respect the SEC's decision and understand the importance of upholding the integrity of the game. 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 an accountability."
According to the SEC, the policy was approved in 2022 by a unanimous vote of Conference athletic directors.
"For a team’s first feigned injury finding by the NCAA, the head coach will receive a public reprimand from the Commissioner issued by the Conference office. In addition, a $50,000 financial penalty will be assessed for this violation," the SEC said.
A second feigned injury violation can result in a $100,000 fine and will be assessed, and any additional violations will result in the head coach being suspended for the team's next contest.
