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Falcons fined for NoiseGate, lose draft pick, won’t appeal

By CM Towle

Jul 26, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; An Atlanta Falcons helmet on the field during training camp at Falcons Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 26, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; An Atlanta Falcons helmet on the field during training camp at Falcons Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NFL is fining the Atlanta Falcons for piping in artificial crowd noise, as well as docking them a 2016 draft pick.

Rumors were swirling during the Combine that the Falcons were going to be hit hard by the league for admittedly piping in artificial crowd noise, and well, they were certainly hit, but one might argue not particularly hard. The Falcons were fined $350,000 and will lose a 2016 sixth round draft pick, according to a story by Pro Football Talk. That might seem like a lot to regular people, but for the team and for the league? Not so much. The sixth round draft pick might sting a little bit, but really, how many teams are known for finding a lot of value in that round? Not a lot.

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The league has also identified a former Falcons marketing executive as the perpetrator of the noise scandal. Roddy White, the former director of event marketing for the team, was allegedly directly involved with the artificial noise. NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said that White would have been suspended without pay for the first eight weeks of the 2015 regular season if he had still been with the Falcons. Vincent also said that if White gets another job with an NFL team that he may still be required to serve all or part of the suspension upon taking the job.

White was actually fired by the Falcons two weeks ago and the noise incident was apparently the reason, according to league sources. Vincent’s statement also notes that Falcons president Rich McKay was supposedly not aware of the violation, but of course he should have been, considering his position. He will be suspended from the competition committee starting on April 1st and won’t be able to apply for reinstatement before June 30th.

The Falcons apologized for the violation through a statement by team owner Arthur Blank. He acknowledged the wrongdoing by the team and the way it violated the integrity of the game and the league, and said the team will not appeal any of the punishment. Blank further said the team had taken steps to make sure something similar doesn’t happen again.

While it’s pretty obvious the Falcons wouldn’t appeal such a relatively light punishment, they also have the benefit of getting to pin the violation on one guy who is no longer with the team. In the end, the Falcons make out pretty good.

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