Ole Miss Releases Statement in Regard to “Feigning Injuries”

By Tucker Harlin

Let me set the stage for you.

It’s October 16, 2021 and yours truly is working as a camera grip and an SD card runner for an outlet covering Tennessee’s home game against Ole Miss.

It’s nearing the later stages of the fourth quarter and I ask the employees of the organization if I can run their spare camera equipment back to the studio to make it easier for them.

They agreed it was a good idea, and I drive back all of the camera equipment back to the studio in my trusty four-wheeler.

I arrive at the studio to find the game in a delay due to copious amounts of trash raining onto the field. Why was all of this trash raining onto the field?

Among other things, Ole Miss defenders were faking injuries in order to lessen the effects of Tennessee’s up tempo offense. While it’s an effective strategy against such an offense, the Rebels’ behavior against Tennessee in 2021 wasn’t an anomaly.

The trend has continued into 2024 with multiple instances in the loss to Kentucky and win at South Carolina.

It only took five years for Ole Miss to address the apparent “injuries” that have occurred in Lane Kiffin’s tenure in Oxford. The program released a statement ahead of its matchup with LSU Saturday in regard to “feigning injuries.

In short, the program is working to resolve the issue with the National Coordinator of Officials.

Contrary to what many around the game will tell you, there is absolutely a way to officiate fake injuries out of the game. You can implement a rule in which a defender can’t return to the game for the remainder of a possession to take away the incentive of a feigned injury.

In the words of Kirk Herbstreit, feigned injuries are “unethical as hell.”