Texas A&M fined $50K after video captures staffer telling player to fake injury
Texas A&M has been fined $50,000 by the Southeastern Conference after video footage from Saturday’s game against Arkansas captured a team staffer appearing to tell a player to fake an injury.
Texas A&M has been fined $50,000 by the Southeastern Conference after video footage from Saturday’s football game against Arkansas allegedly captured a team staffer telling a player to fake an injury.
In a statement released by the SEC, the conference called the incident a “violation of the NCAA playing rule governing feigned injuries.”
NEWS | National Coordinator of Officiating determines violation of injury timeout: https://t.co/sXMjfVRR5i— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) October 21, 2025
Along with the $50,000 fine, A&M head coach Mike Elko was publicly reprimanded by the NCAA. The new rules constituting these penalties were added in 2022.
The footage in question was captured during the Aggies’ 45-42 nail-biting road victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks last Saturday.
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With 12:55 left in the fourth quarter and the Aggies holding a 38-27 lead, Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green completed a pass to wideout Raylen Sharpe, who was met by a convoy of Aggie tacklers after picking up a first down at the A&M 12-yard line.
After the play was over, A&M cornerback Tyreek Chappell went down with an apparent leg injury.
Because Chappell went down after the ball was spotted, the Aggies were charged with a timeout — in line with NCAA rules aimed at preventing teams from feigning injuries to stop fast-paced offenses without using a timeout.
Here is the TV copy of the play that ended with Texas A&M DB Tyreek Chappell going down vs. Arkansas, which the National Coordinator of Football Officiating determined as an attempt to feign injury. A&M has been fined $50,000 and coach Mike Elko has received a public reprimand. pic.twitter.com/E7evlFt4GO— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) October 21, 2025
As Chappell was being treated on the field by A&M staff, Arkansas interim head coach Bobby Petrino was captured yelling at officials and motioning for a penalty flag to be thrown, clearly aware of the Aggies’ alleged chicanery.
Chappell was taken out of the game, in keeping with player injury rules, but he returned to the field later in the fourth quarter.
The SEC also claimed that video footage showed a team employee signaling for Chappell to go down.
“The action by player, especially with the concurrent action by the coach in the team area, is a clear attempt to gain an unmerited advantage by stopping the game to be awarded an injury time out,” the conference’s statement read.
It’s unclear whether or not the alleged footage of the staffer has been made available to the public, as the videos circulating online only show Chappell going down.
“Just prior to the player going down, a Texas A&M staff member can be seen in the video standing in the team area near the 25-yard line signaling demonstratively to the player, pointing to the ground. It was noted that the Texas A&M player had no contact during the play and returned to the game on the second play of the ensuing defensive possession,” the conference continued.
The SEC’s ruling has also drawn some criticism. In the above embedded clip of the incident posted by GigEm247’s Carter Karels, at around the 11-second mark, Chappell can be seen pointing towards the A&M sideline urgently after the play in the moments before he went down.
Critics of the SEC’s ruling claim that the video proves that Chappell was suffering an honest injury, asserting that this communication between Chappell and the A&M trainers was a player alerting the sideline of a cramp, rather than code between the two parties to say, “go down and pretend you’re cramping.”
Elko released a statement after the announcement of the penalties for the incident.
In reference to today's SEC ruling. pic.twitter.com/Jc3nwqjpBL— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 21, 2025
“We respect the SEC’s decision and understand the importance of upholding the integrity of the game. 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,” a portion of Elko’s statement read.
A&M is the first football program to be fined by its conference for alleged feigning of injuries under the new rules, as reported by KBTX’s Travis L. Brown.
Confirmed with conference office, this is the first time the SEC has issued a fine for violation of this rule, which was adopted in 2022. https://t.co/QnjZxMW4KJ—
