NFL Investigating Bills Laser Pointer Complaint [PHOTO]
JOHN WAWROW, AP Sports Writer
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The NFL is attempting to shed light on who allegedly shined a laser pointer at Buffalo Bills players at Detroit's Ford Field last weekend.
League spokesman Michael Signora said Tuesday the NFL is investigating the Bills' complaint and attempting to identify the person responsible. Quarterback Kyle Orton and holder Colton Schmidt said they had a laser directed at them during Buffalo's 17-14 win over the Lions on Sunday.
The league will share the results of its investigation with police, Signora said. All four North American major professional sports leagues bar the use of laser pointers at their facilities.
Fans caught using them can be ejected, are subject to being arrested and face the possibility of being banned from entering the facility for any future event.
Detroit police spokesman Sgt. Michael Woody said that in general, laser pointers and their use isn't illegal. Any criminal case, he said, would depend on how the pointer is used and whether it caused any damage.
Some Bills fans and others posting about the incident on social networks believe they identified the person responsible after sharing screen shots of tweets bragging about what happened. The Twitter account has been deactivated.
"Got Kyle Orton complained to the ref when I got him with the laser," one deleted tweet from the account @MarkoBeslach said, according to a cached version of the Twitter page hosted by Google.
It was not immediately clear whether the person who posted the tweet was involved in any way or used a real name. Public records searches did not immediately turn up records under the name Marko Beslach.
On Monday, fans began a campaign on Facebook to have the person linked to the account banned from attending NFL games. The campaign attracted nearly 2,000 likes as of Tuesday morning.
Schmidt said he had the laser pointed at him while holding on a 50-yard field goal attempt that Dan Carpenter banked off left upright in the third quarter. Carpenter responded to secure the win by hitting a 58-yard attempt with 4 seconds remaining.
The Bills followed NFL protocol during the game by reporting the use of a laser pointer to security officials.
The Lions issued a statement Sunday night saying security officials were unable to identify anyone using a laser.
On Monday, Bills coach Doug Marrone said he's leaving the issue to team president Russ Brandon and the league.
"I think the league will do its job," Marrone said, noting he's never been involved in a game during which laser pointers were used. "Obviously, it'll be something that has to be addressed."
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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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Associated Press writer Jeff Karoub in Detroit contributed to this report.
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