When we watch an NFL game and see a player injured on the field, most fans ask themselves, “Is he ok?” Apparently, some of those players on the field actually aren’t hurt. According to Texans safety Ed Reed and recently retired Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, a team’s strategy is to take a dive on purpose.
We have seen recent developments in the NFL and the NCAA this past week that players have been faking injuries or at least being accused of doing so. In week one, the Dallas Cowboys organization accused the New York Giants of faking an injury so they could waste time off the game clock. The NFL threw out the case but this would not be the first time the Giants have been accused of faking injuries. In 2011, the St. Louis Rams made a complaint to the league office that Giants safety Deon Grant and linebacker Jacquian Williams faked an injury to slow down the tempo of their hurry up offense. After that incident, the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams warning that fines, loss of draft picks and suspensions would be levied if the league determined that players were faking injuries. Unfortunately, it is not just the NFL where these occurrences happen.
In the primetime matchup between Clemson and Georgia, Georgia defensive end Leonard Floyd and defensive back Damien Swann received a signal from the sideline. Once they received the signal, Floyd dropped to the ground in an instant. The play stopped immediately after Floyd fell to the ground.
Soccer is one of the most notorious sports in which the faking of injuries occur. Liverpool striker Luis Suarez admitted to taking a dive against Stoke City last season. Suarez later stated, ”We needed anything to win it.” This comment led to an uproar by BPL (Barclay’s Premier League) fans. Gareth Bale, who was recently acquired from Real Madrid, has also been guilty of taking some dives last season.
Even though these cases are not as widespread as they have been in football, taking a dive is an issue that is not diminishing. The reason why people fake injuries in sports is because they know it is hard to get caught. The referee has to acknowledge the fact that when a player is down that play must stop so the medical staff can assist him on the field.
In a Thursday night game between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots this season, the Jets were trailing the Patriots 13-10 late in the fourth quarter. Suddenly, Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson “became injured” and the Patriots fans started to boo him because they thought he was faking his injury. Unbeknownst to Patriots fans, Wilkerson was injured in week one against Tampa Bay.
“In light of these recent events, people may start to wonder if the player on the field is actually healthy.” In terms of the Premier League, if there is a player that admits to taking a dive, serious action should have been taken. Unless someone admits to taking a dive like Suarez did, there is no other opportune time to make a statement and crackdown on players that do the same. The BPL had an opportunity and they missed their chance to send a message to the rest of the league that Suarez and Bale were disciplined. As long as no disciplinary action is taken against faking an injury, then players will still do it and professional sports leagues will not be able to stop them. Until they are stopped, taking a dive will continue to be a norm among teams.
Phil Novotny can be reached at philip.novotny@spartans.ut.edu.
Awesome article…… A real problem throughout sports which will have to be addressed
Very nicely written article. floppers are ruining the integrity of sports and this article addresses that nicely. Keep up the good work