NFL reportedly probing Atlanta Falcons’ alleged use of fake crowd noise

Move over ‘Deflategate.’ There’s a new investigation rocking the NFL.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the NFL is looking into whether the Atlanta Falcons used artificial crowd noise during their home games at the Georgia Dome during the past two seasons. A team spokesman confirmed the NFL’s investigation to the newspaper.

“We were informed during the season that the league office is looking into crowd noise during our games,” Falcons spokesman Reggie Roberts said Sunday. “We have cooperated fully with them, and we’re awaiting the outcome.”

The investigation was first reported by ESPN.

If the allegations are true, the Falcons could be subject to fines and the loss of a draft pick, the Journal-Constitution reported.

The team’s game operations department is at the center of the probe, which focuses on whether the Falcons piped artificial crowd noise through the stadium’s speakers.

Additional noise at certain sequences of the game could make it harder for teams to call plays and for quarterbacks to call audibles. NFL rules state that teams cannot transmit audio in stadium sound systems once 20 seconds have passed on the play clock. Video boards can be used at any time before a play.