Ole Miss to address suspicion of fake injury

Ole Miss plans to address the fake concussion allegations with the players and has contacted the SEC and national coordinator of football Steve Shaw about the matter.

In a statement released Friday, Ole Miss acknowledged that its team has received attention in the national conversation about “fake injuries” during games this season. The team said it had “provided relevant medical information” to Shaw's review and would answer questions about recent events in the game.

“We have also updated the SEC office, and our head coach will be contacting our coaches and players to ensure we conduct ourselves properly and comply with this,” the statement said.

Several Ole Miss players briefly fell on the field during last week's game at South Carolina, raising suspicions that the Rebels were trying to stop the momentum for the Gamecocks offense in a 27-3 Ole Miss win. South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, asked about the incidents, said he hoped the Ole Miss players who went down were OK, while adding, “I've got my own problems. We just kicked our butts 27-3.” Killed. But it's interesting to me how much it hurts for the opponent's offense after a first down or a big play.”

Added Beamer: “The timing of 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, cited the SEC sportsmanship policy regarding fake injuries.

“If there is an intentional act to fabricate an injury, the SEC will take action,” Kelly said this week. “I can leave it up to the SEC and let them evaluate it [game] Officials should not be involved in this. It's not their scope, they have to manage a game. They cannot decide who is injured or who is not.”

In 2022, the NCAA announced that teams would be able to report “suspicious situations” to the national coordinator of administration for review, who would then contact the conference offices for possible action.