The Las Vegas Police Union is adamant they will not comply with the league’s new policy on biometric data for gameday workers. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has threatened not to police Las Vegas Raiders home games at Allegiant Stadium over the policy.
Police are worried about sensitive information, specifically facial ID, being uploaded via an app. The league is requiring all gameday workers to submit biometric data to work home games. Police say the data could fall into the hands of people who are anti-police.
The Las Vegas Police met with the league last week
According to Noble Brigham of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the police department met with representatives of the NFL on Friday to discuss the policy on biometric data. The league was willing to make small changes:
Steve Grammas, president of the union, said he, Metropolitan Police Department staff and NFL technical and security personnel met on Zoom Friday.
The NFL proposed new retention dates for biometric data, offering to destroy it at the end of the season instead of the original proposal of keeping it for three years after the last time an officer worked an event.
Changing the policy of keeping the data for three years instead of one isn’t much of a concession. Given the league’s original purpose of collecting the data, arbitrarily changing the number of years makes no sense.
Ostensibly, the league is requiring the data to prevent unauthorized access to various stadium areas, such as the press box or locker room. It’s unclear why the league felt the need to keep the data for three years. The request is creepy, and the police want none of it.
The police do not plan to comply with the league’s mandate
Per Brigham’s report, the police do not plan to submit the data required by the NFL:
“Police officers who provide security at Raiders games will still not submit to the biometric and photo requirements of a new NFL policy, the police union head said Tuesday.”
Who will police Las Vegas Raiders games?
It’s unclear what the league plans to do about the standoff. The league surely doesn’t want to risk having no security at Raiders games, and the optics of the league looking anti-police aren’t great, either.
If the league intends to enforce this policy, it should consider having private security handle its games in the future. However, one has to wonder if the league could secure such a force by the Raiders’ first home game on Sept. 22.
Related: Would the Las Vegas Raiders trade for Tyson Bagent?
For More Football News:
Follow me on Twitter at @JordanSig. You can also reach out to Jordan Sigler via email at jordanmsigler@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in college and NFL news, click here!
