Last Sunday, a vicious hit on Saints tight end Coby Fleener didn’t result in his immediate removal from play. Eventually, Fleener was diagnosed with a concussion -- and he has since been placed on injured reserve as a result of the brain injury.
The NFL’s position, as explained via email to PFT on Sunday, is that no policy violations occurred in connection with the failure to immediately remove Fleener from play. The NFL Players Association, however, currently is exploring whether to conduct a formal investigation.
Current procedures allow either the NFL or the NFLPA to initiate the process, which would result in each side investigating whether any violations of the protocol occurred. If the two sides disagree as to whether compliance occurred, an arbitrator would resolve the issue.
The NFLPA has not yet decided whether to invoke the procedure. So, basically, it’s investigating whether to investigate.