Fake injury rule discussion...

[RockmartDawg]

I think there should be video review allowed, after the fact... even if it is days later... if/when there is an obvious fake injury that stops the play of the game.

I saw a prime example happen in a high school game somewhat recently. A team was moving the ball down the field and had just run a play where they got a first down. The team on offense most definitely had gained momentum. After the play had ended and players were collecting themselves on their respective sides, one of the defensive players is trotting toward their sideline, motioning/waving to the sideline with one hand and pointing to the back of their leg with the other hand. They had actually crossed the hash marks as they approached their sideline, still trotting. The player, looking at their sideline, suddenly stopped, and you could see they were looking at something/someone on their sideline. They turned and moved back toward the rest of the players on the field, and then just suddenly flopped down on the field. One other player was standing there next to them, and had also been watching the whole thing. That player began motioning toward the sideline, pointing down toward the guy now laying down on the field. Officials promptly waved to stop the clock, blowing their whistle, and an official's timeout was given.

This was blatant. I'm thinking that if someone wanted to they could probably provide the GHSA with video to show what happened. Thing is, what could/would come of it?

This should be something at all levels of play... all the way through the NFL... where a team is heavily penalized for doing stuff like that. Sure, there are going to be many... if not most... cases, in which someone isn't going to be caught. There is no way to implement a foolproof system to stop it. They could, though, do something like require a player who goes down with injury to not be allowed back on the field for considerably longer than just one play (that is all they have to sit out, currently).

There are other such issues that should also be addressed. I watched a team purposely grabbing a ball carrier's facemask and literally pulling their helmet off of them  in order to have the play blown dead. This would take place when a ball carrier was in the secondary of the defense and the person grabbing their facemask was probably the last person who had a chance to stop them from scoring. This happened multiple times in the same game. There is far too great a risk for serious injury ... grabbing a facemask.... to allow something like that go unchecked.

Just my opinion, but it speaks very badly of a coach and coaching staff when you find teams resorting to this type of stuff as part of their in-game strategy.

[JC-DAWG83]

After the fact review does no good at all. The purpose of the fake injury is to stop play and momentum or to buy time for a team with no timeouts. Unless there is some sort of immediate cost to the offending team, there is no reason for teams to stop doing it. I don't know how a referee could determine an injury was fake.

I've said for several years now that making the "injured" player sit out until there is a change of possession would at least give the players a reason to not want to do it. Sure, a coach could send a "designated injured player" onto the field to fake an injury but that would involve subbing out another player and using time and would only really be available if the offensive team was subbing players. There is no way to completely eliminate the fake injury thing but it would be easy to make it more costly to the team doing it.

[RockmartDawg]

After the fact review does no good at all.  The purpose of the fake injury is to stop play and momentum or to buy time for a team with no timeouts.  Unless there is some sort of immediate cost to the offending team, there is no reason for teams to stop doing it.  I don't know how a referee could determine an injury was fake.

I've said for several years now that making the "injured" player sit out until there is a change of possession would at least give the players a reason to not want to do it.  Sure, a coach could send a "designated injured player" onto the field to fake an injury but that would involve subbing out another player and using time and would only really be available if the offensive team was subbing players.  There is no way to completely eliminate the fake injury thing but it would be easy to make it more costly to the team doing it.

Yeah, the only thing that could have any effect, after the fact, would be if they could penalize a coach... make them sit out a game or something, if it is one you can tell is definitely blatant/fake.

But you are right. Within the play of the game you can only impose something on the "injured" player(s) that would make it less likely, or at least far more difficult, for a team to pull of stuff like that. It's cheating.

[Tomato Sandwich]

After the fact review does no good at all.  The purpose of the fake injury is to stop play and momentum or to buy time for a team with no timeouts.  Unless there is some sort of immediate cost to the offending team, there is no reason for teams to stop doing it.  I don't know how a referee could determine an injury was fake.

I've said for several years now that making the "injured" player sit out until there is a change of possession would at least give the players a reason to not want to do it.  Sure, a coach could send a "designated injured player" onto the field to fake an injury but that would involve subbing out another player and using time and would only really be available if the offensive team was subbing players.  There is no way to completely eliminate the fake injury thing but it would be easy to make it more costly to the team doing it.

Yeah, the only thing that could have any effect, after the fact, would be if they could penalize a coach... make them sit out a game or something, if it is one you can tell is definitely blatant/fake.

But you are right. Within the play of the game you can only impose something on the "injured" player(s) that would make it less likely, or at least far more difficult, for a team to pull of stuff like that. It's cheating.

Would also penalize players who actually need to come out for two or three plays to make sure it isn't something serious, and encourage players to "play through it" for fear of missing an entire series. Pretty terrible idea IMO.

[RockmartDawg]

Yeah, the only thing that could have any effect, after the fact, would be if they could penalize a coach... make them sit out a game or something, if it is one you can tell is definitely blatant/fake.

But you are right. Within the play of the game you can only impose something on the "injured" player(s) that would make it less likely, or at least far more difficult, for a team to pull of stuff like that. It's cheating.

Would also penalize players who actually need to come out for two or three plays to make sure it isn't something serious, and encourage players to "play through it" for fear of missing an entire series. Pretty terrible idea IMO.

I think they probably do that anyway, rather than even come out for one play. If they are injured to a point that they are unable to stand up, unable to walk off the field, and the whole game has to come to a standstill while medical staff comes out to address them, then they SHOULD be taken off of the field and held out for some minimum period of plays or time... definitely not just one play. If they're hurt to the extent that they had to have medical attention then for their own safety they don't need to go back in after only one play.

[Tomato Sandwich]

Yeah, the only thing that could have any effect, after the fact, would be if they could penalize a coach... make them sit out a game or something, if it is one you can tell is definitely blatant/fake.

But you are right. Within the play of the game you can only impose something on the "injured" player(s) that would make it less likely, or at least far more difficult, for a team to pull of stuff like that. It's cheating.

Would also penalize players who actually need to come out for two or three plays to make sure it isn't something serious, and encourage players to "play through it" for fear of missing an entire series. Pretty terrible idea IMO.

I think they probably do that anyway, rather than even come out for one play. If they are injured to a point that they are unable to stand up, unable to walk off the field, and the whole game has to come to a standstill while medical staff comes out to address them, then they SHOULD be taken off of the field and held out for some minimum period of plays or time... definitely not just one play. If they're hurt to the extent that they had to have medical attention then for their own safety they don't need to go back in after only one play.

But how many times do you are a kid think he is hurt, have trainers come out, look him over and then he walks off the field?  Seems fairly common and not just when they are obviously faking it. Having a player in that situation sit out until a change of possession is dumb.

[RockmartDawg]

But how many times do you are a kid think he is hurt, have trainers come out, look him over and then he walks off the field?  Seems fairly common and not just when they are obviously faking it. Having a player in that situation sit out until a change of possession is dumb.

Then how do you address fake injuries? That's back to the origin of the discussion, which is picking up from another existing conversation. This is aside from the safety element if/when a player is unable to even stand up and requires medical attention. What is so heinous about an injured player being held out through a single possession? The guy was just now down on the field, unable to stand up, needing medical attention. Being required to sit out some minimum number of plays seems to be quite logical, especially if/when we're throwing players out of a game, and holding them out the first half of the following game for "targeting", all for the sake of player safety. Talk about overreacting in the name of safety.

[Tomato Sandwich]

But how many times do you are a kid think he is hurt, have trainers come out, look him over and then he walks off the field?  Seems fairly common and not just when they are obviously faking it. Having a player in that situation sit out until a change of possession is dumb.

Then how do you address fake injuries? That's back to the origin of the discussion, which is picking up from another existing conversation. This is aside from the safety element if/when a player is unable to even stand up and requires medical attention. What is so heinous about an injured player being held out through a single possession? The guy was just now down on the field, unable to stand up, needing medical attention. Being required to sit out some minimum number of plays seems to be quite logical, especially if/when we're throwing players out of a game, and holding them out the first half of the following game for "targeting", all for the sake of player safety. Talk about overreacting in the name of safety.

Honestly, you don't do anything about it IMO. Tempest in a teapot. As I said previously, having a trainer come out doesn't mean a player can't walk off the field, just means he felt something that gives him concern. I'd imagine losing your starting QB on a game winning drive because he got rolled up on while being tackled and needed a trainer isn't going to sit well a lot of fans.

[kdsdawg]

Here is one solution;
Video is always running, when a player falls to the ground, clock stops and trainer or asst coach comes on the field to check out player. This always takes a couple of minutes.
That triggers the review of the sideline to watch if coaches are signaling him down. If seen on film, decide what the in-game penalty and punishment to the player is AND, fine and punishment to the head coach.

[RockmartDawg]

Here is one solution;
Video is always running, when a player falls to the ground, clock stops and trainer or asst coach comes on the field to check out player. This always takes a couple of minutes.
That triggers the review of the sideline to watch if coaches are signaling him down. If seen on film, decide what the in-game penalty and punishment to the player is AND, fine and punishment to the head coach.

That's a good suggestion. It definitely can't just keep going on unchecked. It is outright cheating.

The scenario I described, above... I watched it happen myself. I even went back over the video in the game and saw it, plain as day. The player was literally leaving the field and someone on the sideline stopped him, turned him around, back inside the hash mark, and the guy just flopped down. The second player, watching the entire thing, then began signaling to the sideline and the refs (who somehow saw none of it) blew the whistle and stopped the clock and the game for several minutes.

You can't let stuff like that just go unchecked.