(KBTX) – The Southeastern Conference fined the Texas A&M football team $50,000 for allegedly violating its rule against faking injuries, making the Aggies the first team to incur a sanction under the rule adopted in 2022, according to the conference office.
With approximately 13 minutes remaining in Saturday’s Aggie win over Arkansas, A&M nickelback Tyreek Chappell went down with an apparent injury to his right leg. He made the decision to fall to the ground and seek assistance from trainers after the officials spotted the ball. The NCAA passed new rules in 2025 which charge a team a timeout if a player goes down injured after the ball is spotted, which A&M was deemed to be in violation of during the game. Chappell was not involved with any contact on the play prior.
Per conference rules, SEC officials sent video of the incident to the national coordinator of officials to rule on if the player “attempted to feign an injury or that it is more likely than not that a feigned injury occurred.”
According to the conference press release, the national coordinator saw an A&M assistant coach, standing near the 25-yard line, signaling for Chappell to go down. Because of this, the fact that Chappell was not a part of any contact on the play before and returned to action on the second play of the ensuing possession, the national coordinator ruled that A&M had violated the rule.
In a statement, A&M head coach Mike Elko said the program does not agree with the interpretation, but accepts the ruling.
“We respect the SEC’s decision and understand the importance of upholding the integrity of the game,” the statement read. “While we accept the ruling, we do not agree with the decision and want to be clear that we never coach or instruct our players to feign injury. Texas A&M football remains firmly committed to the highest standards of sportsmanship, competitiveness, and integrity. We’ll use this as an opportunity to review our process and ensure we continue to represent our great university and the SEC with class and accountability.”
The conference’s policy on faking injuries was approved unanimously by the member athletic directors in 2022. After an initial warning and the $50,000 fine, a second violation incurs a $100,000 fine. Successive instances could result in Elko’s suspension or the suspension of other A&M staffers.
The NCAA can also issue additional fines and suspensions after reviewing the incident.
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