The NFL is expected to suspend Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay from the league’s competition committee and strip a draft pick from the team for using artificial crowd noise at home games, reports ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter.
According to the report, the league is expected to render its official decision on Tuesday, which could also involve a substantial fine.
McCay is the chairman of the NFL Competition Committee, which is in charge of overseeing the league’s rules.
The league has been investigating the claim since November that the Falcons have been using the tactic over the past two seasons while their opponents are huddling or trying to call a play.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank admitted that the team is guilty of pumping in crowd noise, telling the Associated Press that it was “obviously embarrassing but beyond embarrassing it doesn’t represent our culture and what we’re about.”
The Falcons lost three of their seven games at the Georgia Dome this season and were blown out by the Carolina Panthers at home in Week 17 with a playoff berth on the line. They only won three of their eight home games in 2013 on their way to a 4-12 record.
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