Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse football coach Fran Brown stuck to the pre-planned gameplan on Monday when he was asked about his team being fined by the ACC for faking injuries in its win over Clemson last Saturday.
Brown answered multiple questions about the ACC’s decision to fine Syracuse by saying he wanted to “move on” from the issue and focus on the Orange’s next game against Duke.
It was a muted response from a head coach who has developed a reputation for speaking his mind and delivering memorable quotes, often about subjects that the rest of the college football world shies away from.
“I’m just trying to focus on Duke right now,” Brown said, when asked if Syracuse’s statement meant he acknowledged wrongdoing in the game. “I’m trying to move on. We’ve got a tough football team coming. … Those things happened last game. We put the statement out. I want to stick to everything that was in the statement.”
In its statement Syracuse said it accepted a $25,000 fine and public reprimand that was issued by the ACC.
The ACC detailed a play in the fourth quarter of Syracuse’s win over Clemson in which SU defensive linemen Kevin Jobity Jr. and Nissi Ogbebor went down with potential injuries after a long gain by Clemson.
The league said that an unnamed Syracuse coach was making “concurrent actions” on the sideline.
The ACC called the behavior “unethical and contrary to the spirit of the rules.”
“Syracuse University Athletics acknowledges and accepts the reprimand and fine issued by the Atlantic Coast Conference,” a school spokesperson wrote. “We remain firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of sportsmanship and competitive integrity across all 20 of our varsity sports.”
Brown said that athletic director John Wildhack had encouraged him to stick to that statement when addressing the subject.
“I’m thankful for an athletic director and everybody who made sure we got a statement put out because they want us to move on and get ready for our next opponent.”
A follow-up question about the incident was cut off by a Syracuse official.
Brown was asked about the injuries once more during his press conference and offered a similar response.
“Our administration said that’s what we’re going to go with,” Brown said, referencing the statement. “We’re going to follow exactly what we said and what we came up with that statement. Mr. Wildhack said let’s make sure we move on. Let’s focus on Duke.”
Brown’s most telling moment came as he said he didn’t want to get too specific with details about quarterback Steve Angeli’s injury in case he got one of the medical details wrong.
“I’ve been being held accountable a lot lately,” Brown said.
Syracuse may be the first college program in the country to be fined for faking injuries, although it’s possible other fines have taken place without public acknowledgement.
The practice has been widespread for years and often frustrated former SU head coach Dino Babers, but leaders in the sport have made a more concerted effort in recent years to try to reduce it.
The SEC announced in November of 2024 that it would begin to fine its teams $50,000 if they were wound to be faking injuries.
The NFL adopted fines even earlier, starting in 2022. The league has fined a number of teams, including a total of more than $500,000 to the New Orleans Saints and members of its football team in 2022.
College football officials have put an emphasis on eliminating fake injuries this offseason, including creating a rule that teams will be assessed a timeout or a penalty if a player goes down with an injury after the ball has been spotted.
The practice is widespread enough that it necessitated that rule but Syracuse has already been involved in a pair of high-profile examples during the first four games of the season.
Syracuse defensive back Demetres Samuel Jr. was called out by television broadcasters after a particularly egregious example during the season-opener against Tennessee, a game in which both teams had a number of conveniently-timed injuries.