The NFL has fined the Falcons and head coach Arthur Smith for violating the league’s injury reporting policy in Week Seven, when Bijan Robinson’s illness was not properly disclosed.
The league fined the Falcons as a team $75,000 and Smith individually $25,000.
Robinson played just 11 snaps in the Week Seven game against the Buccaneers and touched the ball only once. Robinson said afterward that he hadn’t been feeling well that day or the day before, and yet the Falcons hadn’t added Robinson to the injury report with an illness, which is what they should have done.
The NFL requires teams to be transparent about players’ injuries and illnesses both to prevent teams from gaining a competitive advantage over opponents who don’t have the information, and to prevent inside information from becoming valuable currency for gamblers.
Fans who made prop bets based on Robinson’s performance surely felt ripped off when Robinson only got the ball once. As the NFL embraces gambling more than it ever has before, it also needs to demand transparency. That lack of transparency is why the Falcons were fined today.
