New NFL security policy could expose officers' private information to 'bad actors', union says

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A new National Football League policy is causing concerns for Las Vegas police officers.

The NFL is looking to implement a security system, which would require officers to confirm their identity by using artificial intelligence technology and facial recognition software in order to access certain parts of the stadium like locker rooms and the press box.

The new policy was tested in six stadiums last season with the goal of expanding to all 32 teams this season.

Right now, officers that work events at Allegiant Stadium are given wristbands and proxy cards from the Las Vegas Raiders in order to access those areas.

Channel 13 spoke to Steve Grammas, the President of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, to learn more about the union's concerns. He says one big issue is they "haven't gotten a clear response as to why [the NFL] is doing this."

"We don't have officers hanging out by the pretzel vendor and eating and having a good time or they're down on the field not doing their job. The truth is that the officers that may work the events may not even be football fans. They're just wanting to work overtime and protect the community and players and coaches so I don't know why they've made this change," Grammas said. "We go through a seriously long and vetted background process in order to be a police officer. And then, once we're on the job, they know exactly who we are. It's no secret who we are."

Grammas said it could potentially compromise safety at the stadium.

"If that biometric data was the only way I could get into, let's say, a press box and there was an active shooter in there and I'm outside the door and I don't have the ability to get in there because my facial scan isn't paired up with allowing me to get in there today, so how do I get in? I've got to wait for someone that has that proxy access with their facial scan or their wristband scan to open the door to go help people."

According to Grammas, in addition to facial scans, the NFL is asking for additional information that could expose officers' personal information.

"When you look in the agreement that the NFL pushed our way, they're talking about not just fingerprinting, not just facial, but next of kin, email addresses, potential date of birth," Grammas said. "The agreement also says you can appeal to have your information back but we don't have to give it to you and we'll retain it as along as we want or three years from the last time you worked an event. What do you need it for three years for? What does the NFL need it for three years for?"

He adds with the number of cyber attacks happening around the world, they don't know who the NFL is contracting with to provide the AI software or technology.

"They partner with many groups and some of them may not be law enforcement-friendly and releasing some potential information on facial recognition to someone that may not be cop-friendly or may have ulterior motives for why they want it, [it] causes us concern because then you start finding us, our homes, our family," Grammas explained. "There's just so many things and it all boils down to what's the necessity? Is this a problem that needs to be fixed? The answer is no. There isn't."

The Raiders are stuck in the middle and Grammas made sure to emphasize their issue is with the league and not the team.

Will this affect security at Allegiant Stadium on game day?

Grammas explained that no matter what happens, there will still be police keeping the public safe at Allegiant Stadium.

"We already have our incident plans in place for the game itself. Officers are assigned. We do have officers that were concerned. What if I end up in a position where they're trying to take a photo of me to get into some place and things like that," Grammas said. "We've already talked to Sheriff [Kevin] McMahill, who absolutely is on our side. I'm going to attend the briefing tomorrow for our officers to remind them that this is not going to happen and should it happen, report it immediately to a supervisor and let us know and we'll start taking legal action, if necessary, against the NFL."

So what happens if Las Vegas police don't agree to the new biometric policy?

"I don't see the NFL saying well, if you don't want to do what we ask, then we won't use you. First of all, they have to. Their contract with the county to run an event like that has to have commissioned officers. They can't defer to Henderson or North Las Vegas because they're on board with us. They're not going to submit their biometric data. And so, I think the NFL is just going to have to realize that we're not going to do this and they're going to have to apply that somewhere else."

The NFL also released the following statement.

Channel 13 reached out to the NFL and the Las Vegas Raiders to get more clarification on the new policy and why it is being introduced.

We have not heard back, as of the time this story was published.

Could the biometric policy be used with fans and ticketing in the future?

Yes.

The Tennessee Titans have partnered with Verizon and their technology partner Wicket and are allowing fans to opt-in to "facial authentication ticketing."

Nissan Stadium, where the Titans play, has eight gates where facial recognition technology is used.

"On game day, users who already submitted a selfie during opt-in simply enter the stadium via one of the dedicated Express Entry camera lanes. What's more, a single person can authenticate up to 12 guests, so a whole party can enter in one go," a press release states. "[It] also enhances security measures by combating fraudulent tickets, providing staff additional support."

"We do a lot of surveying of our guests on an event-by-event basis and there was a time when we were ranked pretty low on ingress into the stadium," said Sam Apple, Director of Stadium Experience for the Tennessee Titans. "This has expedited entry and we've had a ton of positive feedback from our guests. In its simplest terms, it's fast, it's easy to sign up for and it gets them in the building quicker, which raises our scores on those surveys."

The Titans are planning to deploy the scalable technology at their advanced New Nissan Stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2027.