Officially, neither the NFL nor the NFL Players Association had comment regarding Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians slapping the helmet of safety Andrew Adams, with an elbow on the follow-through. Unofficially, the incident has landed on the radar screen of the league office.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the incident is “being handled.” The source added that the policy is clear. No hands on officials, no hands on players.
It was no regrets for Arians when meeting with reporters on Monday, attributing his behavior to Adams being “dumb” when attempting to pull an Eagles player away from the pile that developed following a muffed punt.
It’s unclear what the league will do, or whether the league will even announce the punishment. Although a high degree of transparency applies to discipline imposed on players, discipline imposed on non-players isn’t always shared with the media.