Fake defensive injuries

Northeast Stinger

Helluva Engineer
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11,174
Anyone remember when there was no shot clock in college basketball? Dwayne Morrison came to Tech and didn’t have the horses to keep up with any of the great teams on the schedule so he played keep away on offense. I think the goal was to slow the game down and win 14-12 on a last second basket. Most fans hated it, even chanting during games BORING BORING. But it was within the rules and gave Tech a shot at winning.

UNC had their own version, which was quite elegant, called “the four corners offense.” They would trot it out late in a game when they had a lead and just play keep away, unless the other team made a mistake and left the basket open for an easy layup.

Point is, rules are rules, and taking advantage of them in unorthodox fashion has been around in sports for as long as I can remember. Seems like every four years some Olympic sport has a rule change because someone was “getting away with something” that was completely within in the old rules.
 

roadkill

Helluva Engineer
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If you knowingly and willingly claim an exemption or advantage that you're not entitled to, or if you conceal a tax liability
That is, in fact, against the law, and if caught, punishable with fines or even jail time. No analogy with "faking" injuries.
 

UgaBlows

Helluva Engineer
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7,011
It would not have been so bad if the camera hadn't caught Efford about to go down grabbing his hammy, but to see the DE stop drop and roll. Optics are terrible.
It’s a big FU to the opposing fans, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. What if without those extra breaks our defense would have been too gassed to hold UNC to a fieldgoal at the end or gotten beaten on the hail-mary play, is a win worth it for you?
 

Techastrophe

Jolly Good Fellow
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121
That is, in fact, against the law, and if caught, punishable with fines or even jail time. No analogy with "faking" injuries.
The only difference is the likelihood of punishment by the corresponding authorities, which is obviously the only concern for some people.
 

RonJohn

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The only difference is the likelihood of punishment by the corresponding authorities, which is obviously the only concern for some people.
The NCAA rules basically say there is no punishment for faking an injury.

You are totally misunderstanding my position. I am not in favor of using this tactic. However, it is the current rule, the current enforcement of the rule, and the current way that the rule is being used across college football. GT could take a moral stand and not utilize the tactic. That would have zero impact on the rule, or other teams use of the rule. It would put GT at a disadvantage and accomplish nothing other than a sense of moral superiority. If a team faked injuries after every single play for an entire season, at least that would accomplish getting the rule changed.

My position is that the issue is with the rules, not the way teams are exploiting the rules. The rules need to be changed. GT does not need to be at a disadvantage, and possibly lose additional games, until the rule is changed.
 

roadkill

Helluva Engineer
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1,927
The only difference is the likelihood of punishment by the corresponding authorities, which is obviously the only concern for some people.
One is against the rules/law, one isn't. Not sure how I could spell it out any clearer to you. Yet you think the only difference is punishment.
 

Techastrophe

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
121
One is against the rules/law, one isn't. Not sure how I could spell it out any clearer to you. Yet you think the only difference is punishment.
That's what a rule is. When you have the rule "don't fake an injury to get a free timeout" there is a punishment for faking an injury to get a free timeout. When you don't have that rule there isn't a punishment, there is just an expectation of sportsmanship.
 

PapaV

Georgia Tech Fan
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1
Integrity. Character. Sportsmanship. Ethics. … ‘89 alum here, and I was embarrassed of our team. Reflects poorly on our university. “Just because others do it” is a lame argument - and reflects poorly on those making this excuse. Ask yourself what it teaches the players about life and how to conduct themselves. What example are we setting for the students (and all other fans) that witness this? We are supposed to be developing leaders, right? We are better than this, or we should be…. All alums should call on the administration to FIX IT!
 

stinger78

Helluva Engineer
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4,958
Integrity. Character. Sportsmanship. Ethics. … ‘89 alum here, and I was embarrassed of our team. Reflects poorly on our university. “Just because others do it” is a lame argument - and reflects poorly on those making this excuse. Ask yourself what it teaches the players about life and how to conduct themselves. What example are we setting for the students (and all other fans) that witness this? We are supposed to be developing leaders, right? We are better than this, or we should be…. All alums should call on the administration to FIX IT!
I’m all for integrity in sports. How is it a lack of integrity to do what is not illegal? Are we saying that tactic may not be illegal, but it is unethical? If so, I can understand that - especially to the extent it was employed by us yesterday.
 

Techastrophe

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
121
The NCAA rules basically say there is no punishment for faking an injury.
You are totally misunderstanding my position. I am not in favor of using this tactic
My position is that the issue is with the rules, not the way teams are exploiting the rules.
Its pretty ridiculous to demand that the NCAA explicitly ban every conceivable act of unsportsmanlike conduct. Pausing the game when an athlete is injured doesn't need clarification to exclude fake injuries. You've been pretty clear in your position that if anyone gets away with an unsportsmanlike practice, we should do it too, and take no responsibility for our own behavior because if we do something embarrassing and don't get punished then the issue is with the rules. I understand your position and I disagree.
 

stinger78

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So here’s my companion question: It is not illegal for an offense to run pre-called plays at such a rate that doesn’t allow a defense to call its own plays and get set for the next play. However, is that ethical?

To me, the core issue is a substitution rule and putting the ball in play rule issue. That could be fixed by having the umpire stand over the ball for a certain time to allow for both units to get set. This could be suspended in the final minute when seconds are critical.
 

roadkill

Helluva Engineer
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1,927
That's what a rule is. When you have the rule "don't fake an injury to get a free timeout" there is a punishment for faking an injury to get a free timeout. When you don't have that rule there isn't a punishment, there is just an expectation of sportsmanship.
Huh? So in your analogy, a violation of the tax code which can result in punishment is the same as faking an injury, which doesn't, so they are equivalent? I can not understand your logic here.
 

Techastrophe

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
121
So here’s my companion question: It is not illegal for an offense to run pre-called plays at such a rate that doesn’t allow a defense to call its own plays and get set for the next play. However, is that ethical?

To me, the core issue is a substitution rule and putting the ball in play rule issue. That could be fixed by having the umpire stand over the ball for a certain time to allow for both units to get set. This could be suspended in the final minute when seconds are critical.
That's not equivalent to faking an injury. When an athlete claims he is unable to get off the field promptly and needs officials to suspend play for his own safety, there should be no doubt whether the claim is legitimate.
 

4shotB

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Retired Staff
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Philosophically, when it comes to the rules, I think this guy is the "go to" guy on the topic

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stinger78

Helluva Engineer
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4,958
That's not equivalent to faking an injury. When an athlete claims he is unable to get off the field promptly and needs officials to suspend play for his own safety, there should be no doubt whether the claim is legitimate.
Did I say it was equivalent? I said they are both potentially unethical. How is it ethical not to give your opponent an opportunity to get set? It’s desired by the rules - that’s the purpose of substitution rules. Running extreme tempo is (pretty clearly) subverting the spirit of the rules.
 

Techastrophe

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
121
Huh? So in your analogy, a violation of the tax code which can result in punishment is the same as faking an injury, which doesn't, so they are equivalent? I can not understand your logic here.
You're trying a little too hard. I said that claiming an exemption under false pretenses and claiming an injury timeout under false pretenses are only different in the expectation of punishment for the cheater. If that's all that matters to you, then they are the same.
 
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