There are some claims coming out about how the Giant's defensive coordinator, Perry Fellwell, has been encouraging his athletes to fake injuries in order to gain more time to make sure that the right players are on the field. This came as a result of last Monday night's contest of the Giants vs the Rams in which two Giants players supposedly faked injuries to gain more time. These claims have been made by a former player, Brian Kehl that this is nothing new.
Clearly this is something that the NFL is going to look into and it needs to be looked at from more than one perspective, the fairness to the other players and the fairness to the medical staff, including the athletic trainer. The athletic trainer is certainly affected by this as in the sense of urgency can be affected. Although I am sure that the staff will try to maintain that urgency, it is tough when they might encounter so many faked injuries to have the same sense of urgency when a serious injury comes along. Not only that, but obviously it can affect the integrity of the athletic trianer if they are forced to go along with the charade.
This can happen at any level of competition, it is not just restricted to the professional level. There are coaches at any level willing to win at any cost and fakin injuries can be a part of that. As professionals, we are going to have to deal with coaches who have this attitude and may encourage their athletes to fake injuries. The important thing we have to keep in mind is to treat every injury like it is real, no matter what. You really never know when it could be something really serious. This is one area that during my education, I have not really thought of. I knew that this was a possibility, but never how I would react if there was a coach encouraging this. It's really something to think about.
Let's hope that these claims arent really true, but look at the video. You tell me...
I believe that these Giants players did purposely fake an injury in order to stop the clock...
ReplyDeleteI think this is a horrible practice and that the NFL really should take the time to look into this and should look into suspending players who agree to go along with faking an injury. Athletic Trainers are taught to always be paying attention, to always be aware of their surroundings and to always be ready to go on the field at a moments notice! If athletes are faking injuries, the athletic trainer is running out onto the field quickly going through all the injuries which could have occurred during the last play. If they arrive and are constantly being told that they are fine and that nothing happened, innately is going to start losing interest in the game. Its not going to be their fault either, it is just a natural response when people seem to be taking advantage of the situation. It just happens. So what happens when something serious happens? The Athletic Trainer will run out there, but what if they started to loose interest, or goes out there not going through their normal check list because they are feeling as though they are faking it, because thats what they did the last five times they went down in a game? It could be potentially harmful and dangerous to the athlete.
Coaches need to not even initiate in the practice of faking injuries. It is putting the Athletic Trainer is a very awkward position. Ethically athletic trainers are not supposed to go along with these practices. The coaches are asking them to chose between having a job, or going against everything they were taught and agreed too by going through their certification as an Athletic Trainer. Its just an unfair and dangerous practice and the NFL needs to step in, to help protect the integrity of the game and the profession of athletic training.