What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

What's the rule on FAKE inuries in the NFL? Because even though unethical, it's legal in NCAA (1 Viewer)

JohnnyU

Footballguy
Talk about blatant, Jaxon Dart tells the player next to him to go down to give Ole Miss the "Lane Kiffin timeout" as it is called. They did this several times yesterday and lost anyway to Kentucky, lol. Kiffin has a history of this unethical behavior during games. There is no penalty for doing this in college games. What is the rule in the NFL for doing the same thing? I'm sure it is more subtle than this example. Even if there isn't a penalty on it, if it is deemed a fake injury, should players and coaches get fined, or even suspended? Perhaps be forced to miss an entire series instead of one play? Kiffin does it to stop the other team's momentum, or give him more time to set the next play and player packages. I'm sure a lot of teams do it, but he obviously abuses it all the time.


Here you have Kiffin in a different game telling a player to go down. There are so many examples of this there are too many to count. Kiffin has no ethics and I hope he loses every week.

 
Last edited:
Perhaps requiring a player to miss the entire series instead of one play if they fake an injury is a rule change that needs to happen?
 
If there is no penalty, all it will take is one coach to change that rule. If you have a different player fake an injury every single play for an entire game, I guarantee the rule changes.
 
Per league rules, players, teams and coaches can be fined. A penalty can be called on the field but I don't know if it ever has. In 2022 the league sent out a memo:

“The NFL continues to emphasize the importance of upholding the integrity of the game and competitive fairness as our highest priority. We have observed multiple instances of clubs making a deliberate attempt to stop play unnecessarily this season. Pages A18 and A66. of the 2022 Policy Manual for Member Clubs -- Game Operations state the following:

‘Any deliberate attempt by a team and/or player to stop play unnecessarily; prolong or delay the process; improperly take advantage of a stoppage in play; or influence the actions of an ATC Spotter will be’ considered an ‘unfair act’ and may result in discipline, in addition to any on-field penalty assessed by the Game Officials.

‘Clubs and players are advised that, should the League office determine that there is reasonable cause, all those suspected of being involved in faking injuries will be interviewed and medical records will be reviewed. . . .’

“Clubs and individuals determined to be in violation of this rule will be subject to League discipline ‘to include a minimum fine of $350,000 for the club, a minimum fine of $100,000 for the head coach, a minimum fine of $50,000 for assistant coaches, if applicable, and a minimum fine of $50,000 for players. Please be advised that violations of this rule may also result in suspensions of persons involved, and/or the forfeiture of a draft choice(s), including for first offenses. Clubs, club personnel (including head coaches and assistant coaches), and players have been held accountable for their actions this season.”
 
Per league rules, players, teams and coaches can be fined. A penalty can be called on the field but I don't know if it ever has. In 2022 the league sent out a memo:

“The NFL continues to emphasize the importance of upholding the integrity of the game and competitive fairness as our highest priority. We have observed multiple instances of clubs making a deliberate attempt to stop play unnecessarily this season. Pages A18 and A66. of the 2022 Policy Manual for Member Clubs -- Game Operations state the following:

‘Any deliberate attempt by a team and/or player to stop play unnecessarily; prolong or delay the process; improperly take advantage of a stoppage in play; or influence the actions of an ATC Spotter will be’ considered an ‘unfair act’ and may result in discipline, in addition to any on-field penalty assessed by the Game Officials.

‘Clubs and players are advised that, should the League office determine that there is reasonable cause, all those suspected of being involved in faking injuries will be interviewed and medical records will be reviewed. . . .’

“Clubs and individuals determined to be in violation of this rule will be subject to League discipline ‘to include a minimum fine of $350,000 for the club, a minimum fine of $100,000 for the head coach, a minimum fine of $50,000 for assistant coaches, if applicable, and a minimum fine of $50,000 for players. Please be advised that violations of this rule may also result in suspensions of persons involved, and/or the forfeiture of a draft choice(s), including for first offenses. Clubs, club personnel (including head coaches and assistant coaches), and players have been held accountable for their actions this season.”
I'd be interested in how many fines have actually been handed out. I would be in favor of requiring players to miss an entire series if they get injured, fake or not.
 
Talk about blatant, Jaxon Dart tells the player next to him to go down to give Ole Miss the "Lane Kiffin timeout" as it is called. They did this several times yesterday and lost anyway to Kentucky, lol. Kiffin has a history of this unethical behavior during games. There is no penalty for doing this in college games. What is the rule in the NFL for doing the same thing? I'm sure it is more subtle than this example. Even if there isn't a penalty on it, if it is deemed a fake injury, should players and coaches get fined, or even suspended? Kiffin does it to stop the other team's momentum, or give him more time to set the next play. I'm sure a lot of teams do it, but he obviously abuses it all the time.


Here you have Kiffin in a different game telling a player to go down. There are so many examples of this there are too many to count. Kiffin has no ethics and I hope he loses every week.

Maybe this is just my unusual way of looking at things, but so long as it is legal in the NCAA, how is it unethical? It seems unethical at face value: "oh come on, man, you're faking an injury to buy your team some time? That's not how injury timeouts were intended to be used." But if it is currently legal, that's called using the rules to your advantage. Just like trick plays in which you do something that isn't "how it's supposed to be done".

That said, this is one that should call for a penalty or fines, in my opinion.
 
Talk about blatant, Jaxon Dart tells the player next to him to go down to give Ole Miss the "Lane Kiffin timeout" as it is called. They did this several times yesterday and lost anyway to Kentucky, lol. Kiffin has a history of this unethical behavior during games. There is no penalty for doing this in college games. What is the rule in the NFL for doing the same thing? I'm sure it is more subtle than this example. Even if there isn't a penalty on it, if it is deemed a fake injury, should players and coaches get fined, or even suspended? Kiffin does it to stop the other team's momentum, or give him more time to set the next play. I'm sure a lot of teams do it, but he obviously abuses it all the time.


Here you have Kiffin in a different game telling a player to go down. There are so many examples of this there are too many to count. Kiffin has no ethics and I hope he loses every week.

Maybe this is just my unusual way of looking at things, but so long as it is legal in the NCAA, how is it unethical? It seems unethical at face value: "oh come on, man, you're faking an injury to buy your team some time? That's not how injury timeouts were intended to be used." But if it is currently legal, that's called using the rules to your advantage. Just like trick plays in which you do something that isn't "how it's supposed to be done".

That said, this is one that should call for a penalty or fines, in my opinion.
I have no issue being able to distinguish the difference between legal and unethical. From your last sentence I can see that you know the difference as well.
 
Last edited:
Talk about blatant, Jaxon Dart tells the player next to him to go down to give Ole Miss the "Lane Kiffin timeout" as it is called. They did this several times yesterday and lost anyway to Kentucky, lol. Kiffin has a history of this unethical behavior during games. There is no penalty for doing this in college games. What is the rule in the NFL for doing the same thing? I'm sure it is more subtle than this example. Even if there isn't a penalty on it, if it is deemed a fake injury, should players and coaches get fined, or even suspended? Kiffin does it to stop the other team's momentum, or give him more time to set the next play. I'm sure a lot of teams do it, but he obviously abuses it all the time.


Here you have Kiffin in a different game telling a player to go down. There are so many examples of this there are too many to count. Kiffin has no ethics and I hope he loses every week.

Maybe this is just my unusual way of looking at things, but so long as it is legal in the NCAA, how is it unethical? It seems unethical at face value: "oh come on, man, you're faking an injury to buy your team some time? That's not how injury timeouts were intended to be used." But if it is currently legal, that's called using the rules to your advantage. Just like trick plays in which you do something that isn't "how it's supposed to be done".

That said, this is one that should call for a penalty or fines, in my opinion.
I have no issue being able to distinguish the difference between legal and unethical. From your last sentence I can see that you know the difference as well.
The difference to me is not that a trick play is ethical and a fake injury is unethical. It's that a trick play is interesting and a fake injury is silly (in my opinion).
 
Talk about blatant, Jaxon Dart tells the player next to him to go down to give Ole Miss the "Lane Kiffin timeout" as it is called. They did this several times yesterday and lost anyway to Kentucky, lol. Kiffin has a history of this unethical behavior during games. There is no penalty for doing this in college games. What is the rule in the NFL for doing the same thing? I'm sure it is more subtle than this example. Even if there isn't a penalty on it, if it is deemed a fake injury, should players and coaches get fined, or even suspended? Kiffin does it to stop the other team's momentum, or give him more time to set the next play. I'm sure a lot of teams do it, but he obviously abuses it all the time.


Here you have Kiffin in a different game telling a player to go down. There are so many examples of this there are too many to count. Kiffin has no ethics and I hope he loses every week.

Maybe this is just my unusual way of looking at things, but so long as it is legal in the NCAA, how is it unethical? It seems unethical at face value: "oh come on, man, you're faking an injury to buy your team some time? That's not how injury timeouts were intended to be used." But if it is currently legal, that's called using the rules to your advantage. Just like trick plays in which you do something that isn't "how it's supposed to be done".

That said, this is one that should call for a penalty or fines, in my opinion.
I have no issue being able to distinguish the difference between legal and unethical. From your last sentence I can see that you know the difference as well.
The difference to me is not that a trick play is ethical and a fake injury is unethical. It's that a trick play is interesting and a fake injury is silly (in my opinion).
Call it what you want, silly or anything else, but it is unethical to fake an injury, legal or not. There are things the league can do on the field, aside from fines after the game, that can curb it. If you make a player miss a series or two after being injured :wink:, coaches may think twice before doing it.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top