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SEC and national officiating coordinator Rogers Redding won't comment about Auburn linebacker Anthony Swain's "injury" against Arkansas. Read More Here...
Is a player faking or not faking? Increasingly, that's a question being asked in college football about pretending to be injured.
"It's a concern," said Rogers Redding, the national coordinator of officiating. This season has produced a couple high-profile instances in which players were accused of faking an injury.
The latest happened Saturday when Auburn linebacker Anthony Swain abruptly fell to the ground and grabbed his knee after appearing to move fine following a play against Arkansas. The play caused outcry by Razorbacks coach Bret Bielema, ESPN announcers and many fans.
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said after the game that Swain, who has not been made available to comment, was hurt. Swain suffered a bruised knee and is expected to play this week against Tennessee, Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson said Sunday.
At his news conference today, Malzahn said, "I could see why people questioned it. I've coached for 23 years and have never told a player to fake an injury." Added Malzahn: "I promise you this ... moving forward there will be no questionable issues again."
The SEC and Redding each declined to comment about the play. Speaking generally, Redding expressed concern about ethical issues involved with faking injuries. Officials are instructed to treat injuries as if they are real and to stop play.
"There's nothing the officiating community can do about it, and there may be nothing the rules committee can do about it," Redding said. "But it's a matter of integrity in the game. One reason there's a statement in the rule book about feigning an injury is to make people aware of the need for integrity among sportsmen."
Before the season began, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit predicted there would be more faking in 2013 to combat up-tempo offenses because there's no in-game punishment for doing so.
Washington coach Steve Sarkisian accused Stanford of faking injuries in their game last month, an accusation that Stanford coach David Shaw denied.
Malzahn, a hurry-up offense proponent, raised concerns publicly last July about defenses faking injuries. Bielema has expressed concern that up-tempo offenses put defensive players at increased risk of injury.
Swain went down with four seconds left in the third quarter with Arkansas driving and huddling up. The Razorbacks had just converted a fourth-and-three by using a formation similar to one that Bielema voiced concerns about last week over game film provided by Auburn.
ESPN analyst Desmond Howard said players who suffer a knee injury usually get right up and test the injury by running before falling to the ground.
The play with Swain "definitely looked odd," Howard said. "It passed the odd test. It looked extremely odd. You look at those situations and you can't help but to question it and wonder if it's legitimate or not. And I don't know if there's a way to actually prove it. It's not like Aaron Rodgers with a cracked collarbone."
Because football injuries are such a hot issue at the moment, "I don't know if you really want to mess with that topic by looking like you don't take it seriously when a player is down," Howard said.
Late Monday afternoon, American Football Coaches Association Executive Director Grant Teaff said he had not seen the Auburn-Arkansas play and planned to watch it. "As bad as something may look, it's extremely hard to judge intent," Teaff said. "It's obvious if someone is up after a play and walking around, but if there's follow-up to an injury, that's another issue involved.
There have been some cases happen in the past where sometimes the coaches were not involved in any way. (Faking an injury) is something that's certainly not applied to basic standards we try to use."
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Is a player faking or not faking? Increasingly, that's a question being asked in college football about pretending to be injured.
"It's a concern," said Rogers Redding, the national coordinator of officiating. This season has produced a couple high-profile instances in which players were accused of faking an injury.
The latest happened Saturday when Auburn linebacker Anthony Swain abruptly fell to the ground and grabbed his knee after appearing to move fine following a play against Arkansas. The play caused outcry by Razorbacks coach Bret Bielema, ESPN announcers and many fans.
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said after the game that Swain, who has not been made available to comment, was hurt. Swain suffered a bruised knee and is expected to play this week against Tennessee, Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson said Sunday.
At his news conference today, Malzahn said, "I could see why people questioned it. I've coached for 23 years and have never told a player to fake an injury." Added Malzahn: "I promise you this ... moving forward there will be no questionable issues again."
The SEC and Redding each declined to comment about the play. Speaking generally, Redding expressed concern about ethical issues involved with faking injuries. Officials are instructed to treat injuries as if they are real and to stop play.
"There's nothing the officiating community can do about it, and there may be nothing the rules committee can do about it," Redding said. "But it's a matter of integrity in the game. One reason there's a statement in the rule book about feigning an injury is to make people aware of the need for integrity among sportsmen."
Before the season began, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit predicted there would be more faking in 2013 to combat up-tempo offenses because there's no in-game punishment for doing so.
Washington coach Steve Sarkisian accused Stanford of faking injuries in their game last month, an accusation that Stanford coach David Shaw denied.
Malzahn, a hurry-up offense proponent, raised concerns publicly last July about defenses faking injuries. Bielema has expressed concern that up-tempo offenses put defensive players at increased risk of injury.
Swain went down with four seconds left in the third quarter with Arkansas driving and huddling up. The Razorbacks had just converted a fourth-and-three by using a formation similar to one that Bielema voiced concerns about last week over game film provided by Auburn.
ESPN analyst Desmond Howard said players who suffer a knee injury usually get right up and test the injury by running before falling to the ground.
The play with Swain "definitely looked odd," Howard said. "It passed the odd test. It looked extremely odd. You look at those situations and you can't help but to question it and wonder if it's legitimate or not. And I don't know if there's a way to actually prove it. It's not like Aaron Rodgers with a cracked collarbone."
Because football injuries are such a hot issue at the moment, "I don't know if you really want to mess with that topic by looking like you don't take it seriously when a player is down," Howard said.
Late Monday afternoon, American Football Coaches Association Executive Director Grant Teaff said he had not seen the Auburn-Arkansas play and planned to watch it. "As bad as something may look, it's extremely hard to judge intent," Teaff said. "It's obvious if someone is up after a play and walking around, but if there's follow-up to an injury, that's another issue involved.
There have been some cases happen in the past where sometimes the coaches were not involved in any way. (Faking an injury) is something that's certainly not applied to basic standards we try to use."
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