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Greg McElroy, Sean McDonough call out Alabama for fake injury amid substitution controversy

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh10/19/24

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Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
Kalen DeBoer, Alabama - © William McLelland-Imagn Images

Fake injuries have become a major talking point in college football, with the latest example potentially playing out in Knoxville. Alabama defensive back King Mack was confused about a substitution situation and when pushed back onto the field, went down. Trainers rushed onto the field to check on him as play was stopped.

The ESPN broadcast from Neyland Stadium figured out what was going on and called out Alabama for the tactic. Color commentator Greg McElroy spoke over the replay, saying Mack purposely went down to save Alabama from getting any kind of penalty.

“I mean, this is a fake [injury], McElroy said. “King Mack, No. 5, at the top goes in and all of a sudden goes down. I mean, that’s a fake injury. He’s not hurt, he goes down to save Alabama some time. But Kalen DeBoer is really frustrated with the officials, not allowing them Alabama, it appears, to substitute.”

The move did not work for the Crimson Tide as the officials did call an illegal substitution on them. Head coach Kalen DeBoer was not happy with them at all, believing his team should have had the right to bring in the players they wanted. All of this was fresh off a timeout too, being the first play of Tennessee’s drive.

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The fake injuries were a topic brought up this week to SEC associate commissioner Garth Glissman while appearing on The Paul Finebaum Show. While Glissman was speaking at SEC men’s basketball media days, he originally did not want to speak on hypotheticals before providing what the league could do to prevent them.

“Well, we would look into it. There are prescribed penalties in each sport, and the penalties are higher in football than the other sports given the financial incentives associated with football,” Glissman said.

No matter the future, the present was not too well received by the commentator booth from Neyland Stadium. Teams across the SEC are dealing with the problem, not just Tennessee. And this time, Alabama did not even benefit from the situation.