Ole Miss addressed fake injury criticism on Friday afternoon in a statement ahead of their game against No. 13 LSU on Saturday night in Death Valley.
The statement reveals that Ole Miss plans to continue communication with their players and staff regarding the procedures and guidelines as well as continued communication with the league offices to provide more information and review.
“Feigned injuries has become a notable topic in college football, and we realize our program has been part of that discussion,” Ole Miss released in a statement on Friday. “We have been in communication with the National Coordinator for Football Officiating and provided relevant medical information for his review to answer questions about recent injuries. We have also updated the SEC office, and our head coach will communicate with our coaches and players to ensure we conduct ourselves properly and are compliant in this matter.”
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The Rebels received heavy criticism for an alleged fake injury during their game against Kentucky on Sept. 29 in Oxford. With just over six minutes remaining in the second quarter, Ole Miss running back Matt Jones went down with an apparent leg injury. Jones hit the ground after the Rebels had lined up for their next offensive play following an incomplete deep pass from quarterback Jaxson Dart.
ABC broadcaster Sean McDonough was vocal about his opinion after coming back from commercial break.
“We’re back, Matt Jones, fortunately, survived to walk off the field,” McDonough said coming back from break. “Just a blatant fake injury. We’ll show you [the replay] when we have a moment.”
Shocking injury for Ole Miss’ RB….if you’re uneasy looking at injuries, do not watch this. Hoping for full recovery.pic.twitter.com/EhvOArWFZg
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 28, 2024
ABC brought on former SEC official and current SEC rules analyst Matt Austin to give his take on the situation after it happened.
“Well, there’s actually nothing in the rule book that says you cannot do that,” Austin said. “There is very strong wording about being unethical to fake an injury at any time during the game. I know the rulesmakers have talked about it several times but as of right now there’s nothing in the book you can do about it.”
According to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, “a number of Ole Miss players remained briefly down on the field after plays during last week’s game at South Carolina.”
Ole Miss drew criticism from South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer after the game, saying that “the timing” of some of the brief injuries is “a really bad look for college football.” Beamer also said that while the Gamecocks’ have their own problems to address following their 27-3 loss to the Rebels, it was “fascinating” to see “how many injuries occur for them after the opposing offense makes a first down or makes a big play.”
No. 13 LSU will host No. 9 Ole Miss at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
