SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent a memo Friday to league athletic directors and head football coaches outlining punishment if players continue to fake injuries in games.

“As plainly as it can be stated: Stop any and all activity related to faking injuries to create time-outs,” Sankey wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.

He ended the memo by writing: “Play football and stop the feigned injury nonsense.”

Increasingly over the past few years, coaches have repeatedly accused opposing teams and coaches of faking injuries to disrupt the rhythm and flow of offenses, especially those that are up-tempo and rarely huddle. Broadcasters have pointed out several obvious cases this season when players flopped to the ground near the sideline claiming to be injured just as the opposing offense was about to snap the ball.

Each play where a fake injury might have occurred must be submitted to the SEC for review. Steve Shaw, the national coordinator of football officiating, will determine what constitutes a fake injury. According to Sankey’s memo, those guidelines will range from Shaw determining that a feigned injury has occurred, that it is more likely than not that a feigned injury has occurred, that a player attempted to feign an injury or any other general statement from Shaw establishing the probability of a feigned injury.

Sankey wrote that creating injury timeouts, on offense or defense, is “not acceptable and is disrespectful to the game of football.”

Punishments laid out in Sankey’s memo include the following: for the first offense, a head coach receives a public reprimand and a $50,000 fine; for the second offense, another reprimand and a $100,000 fine; for a third offense, another reprimand and the coach will be suspended for his program’s next game.

Any staff member found to be involved in signaling or directing a player to feign an injury will face the same measures, including financial penalties and a suspension. A player cited for feigning an injury also may be subject to a public reprimand.

Sankey told reporters a few weeks ago at the Oklahoma-Texas game that he was concerned about the growing accusations of faking injuries.

“If somebody’s injured, we need to take that seriously,” Sankey said. “But creating the questions — and I mean this all across the country — needs to stop.”

DEL MAR, Calif. — Citizen Bull won the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by 1½ lengths and Gaming was second at Del Mar on Friday, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a 1-2 finish and his record sixth career victory in the race for 2-year-olds.

Ridden by Martin Garcia, Citizen Bull ran 1¹⁄₁₆ miles in 1:43.07. He paid $33.80 at 15-1 odds.

Citizen Bull earned 30 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, where Baffert will return next year for the first time since 2021. His three-year ban by Churchill Downs ended in July.

Gaming was the 6-1 third choice. Baffert’s other entry, Getaway Car, named for the Taylor Swift song, finished fourth at 25-1 odds.

“It’s exciting when your horses show up,” Baffert said. “I was hoping they’d run 1-2-3.”

It was Baffert’s 19th career Cup win and he broke a tie with D. Wayne Lukas for most Juvenile victories. Jockey Martin Garcia earned his fifth career Cup win.

“He always comes through. He’s a big-time rider,” Baffert said of Garcia. “He told me, ‘I’m going to win it.'”

East Avenue, the 8-5 favorite, stumbled out of the starting gate and nearly went down to his knees. He finished ninth in the 10-horse field. Chancer McPatrick, the 5-2 second choice, lost for the first time in four career starts and was sixth.

Racing resumes Saturday with nine Cup races, highlighted by the $7 million Classic.

In other races:

– Immersive won the $2 million Juvenile Fillies by 4½ lengths, giving trainer Brad Cox at least one Cup win in each of the past seven years. Ridden by Manny Cox, Immersive ran 1¹⁄₁₆ miles in 1:44.36 to remain undefeated. Sent off as the 2-1 favorite, she paid $6 to win.

– Lake Victoria overcame a challenging trip to win the $2 million Juvenile Fillies Turf by 1¼ lengths. The 2-year-old filly ran 1 mile in 1:34.28 and paid $3.40 as the 3-5 favorite. Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore earned the win.

– Magnum Force rallied to overtake leader Governor Sam and win the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint by a quarter-length. The 12-1 shot ran five furlongs in 56.36 seconds and paid $27 to win. Irish trainer Ger Lyons and jockey Colin Keane earned their first Cup victories. Governor Sam, co-owned by Houston Astros free agent Alex Bregman, finished third.

– Henri Matisse won the $1 million Juvenile Turf, with Moore and O’Brien teaming for their second win of the day. Moore won his 16th career Cup race. It was O’Brien’s 20th career Cup win and seventh in the race. Sent off as the 7-2 favorite, Henri Matisse ran 1 mile in 1:34.48. Iron Man Cal was second and Aomori City third. There was a lengthy steward’s inquiry involving New Century, who finished fourth, and Dream On, who was fifth, but there was no change to the order of finish.

LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw approached the podium on a blue, circular stage set up in center field at Dodger Stadium on Friday, after the downtown parade he’d always wanted, with his teammates bowing from behind, and the emotions hit him.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Kershaw, his voice cracking, told a crowd of 42,448 people who showed up to celebrate the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ World Series title. “I didn’t have anything to do with this championship, but it feels like I have the best feeling in the world — that I get to celebrate with you guys!”

When the Dodgers last won it all, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented them from enjoying most of the pageantry presented to Major League Baseball’s champion, most notably a parade. Kershaw, who had spent his prolonged career chasing a title, never got to fully enjoy a moment that admittedly lifted a massive burden off his shoulders. When the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night, it gave the franchise its first full-season championship since 1988 and provided its players with an opportunity to fully celebrate.

It probably meant most to Kershaw, even if a foot injury prevented him from helping.

“I think in 2020 there was like a sense of relief almost,” Kershaw said. “And this one — especially because my role is pretty limited, just to be able to sit back and enjoy it, you know? I think there’s just a lot more happiness, honestly. Just so happy to be able to celebrate finally. That parade was for this season, and I feel that this season was unique in its own, and we’re gonna celebrate accordingly. But 2020, too — it’s a long time coming. We had a long time coming for this parade. So to be able to finally do it — I think the build-up made it even sweeter, honestly.”

Seven double-decker buses consisting of players, family members and coaches took a two-mile route from Gloria Molina Grand Park near City Hall, down 1st Street and through Grand Avenue before making their way to Dodger Stadium at around 12:30 p.m. PT. Ice Cube, who famously kicked off Game 2 of the World Series last week, greeted them with a rendition of his iconic song “It Was A Good Day.” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts danced alongside him, then went about introducing some of his key players.

Walker Buehler, who recorded the final out, wore Orel Hershiser’s grey road jersey from the 1988 World Series and yelled expletives into the microphone. Kiké Hernández, in many ways the team’s spiritual leader, stirred the crowd by prompting them to yell “we don’t give a f—,” a reference to his line during an on-field, postgame interview after a pennant-clinching victory. Shohei Ohtani navigated the parade with his dog, Decoy, in tow, then spoke English from the stage.

“This is so special for me,” Ohtani told the crowd. “I’m so honored to be here and to be part of this team. Congratulations, Los Angeles. Thank you, fans!”

Some of the biggest cheers went to Freddie Freeman, who willed his way through a litany of injuries in October and ultimately won World Series MVP. Roberts introduced Freeman as someone who “played with one leg and one rib,” a reference to his sprained right ankle and, as ESPN reported Thursday, the broken costal cartilage he sustained the night before the National League Division Series.

Roberts said the team “got out of the woods” with Freeman’s rib issue in the time off between the end of the NL Championship Series and the start of the World Series, helping Freeman launch a Kirk Gibson-style walk-off grand slam in Game 1.

“But he wasn’t nearly close to 100 percent,” Roberts added.

Neither was Kershaw, of course.

The 36-year-old left-hander underwent shoulder surgery last offseason and didn’t make his 2024 debut until late July. Then, in his seventh start, he aggravated a long-standing toe injury. Attempts to return for the postseason only led to other ailments, forcing him out for the stretch run of the season.

On Wednesday, Kershaw said, he’ll undergo surgery to fix his left foot — consisting of a bone spur and a ruptured plantar plate, among other issues — and another procedure to address a meniscus issue in his left knee.

At some point over these next few days, Kershaw will either exercise his player option for 2025 or sign a new contract to return for his 18th season with the Dodgers.

For 17 years, Kershaw established himself as one of the most monumental figures in the franchise’s illustrious history. He won three Cy Young Awards and an MVP, made 10 All-Star teams, became the all-time leader in strikeouts and accumulated the second-most wins. But he was continually part of star-studded Dodger teams that came up short in the playoffs and, fairly or not, shouldered the blame for much of it.

The 2020 championship brought him vindication.

The 2024 championship allowed him to properly celebrate.

“I knew it was gonna be a special day, all the stuff, but it was a little bit more emotional than I expected,” Kershaw said. “It’s a day that I’ll definitely never forget. You know, baseball is just a game. Everybody says that. But I don’t know, man. You look around and you see how much it means to so many different people. It might be baseball, but it means a lot to a lot of different people. I’m no different.”