Falcons to lose 2016 draft pick for faking crowd noise, Blank apologizes

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The Atlanta Falcons will forfeit a fifth-round 2016 draft pick, pay a $350,000 fine and team President Rich McKay will be suspended from the NFL’s competition committee for three months for pumping in crowd noise at the Georgia Dome, the NFL announced Monday.

In February, Falcons owner Arthur Blankadmitted the team piped artificial crowd noise into the Georgia Dome during games the last two years.The team went 6-9 in those games.

Blank released a statement Monday afternoon:

“What took place was wrong and nowhere near the standards by which we run our business. Anytime there are actions that compromise the integrity of the NFL or threaten the culture of our franchise, as this issue did, they will be dealt with swiftly and strongly.

“The League conducted a thorough investigation of this matter, and we cooperated fully. We understand the penalties imposed and their impact on our team, and we will not appeal the league’s decisions. Further, we have addressed the matter internally and taken actions to ensure that something like this does not happen again.

“The Falcons and all of our other businesses are built upon a foundation of values that drive our decision making. This issue was a clear failure in that regard. I apologize for any embarrassment this situation has caused the NFL, our fans, and our Falcons players and associates.”

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