Enforcement at rules at your card room?

[Invigilator]

I played a tournament today and could not believe what happened.
(I was not in the hand)

-Player A is all-in
-Player B and C call but still have chips
-a tournament director is watching

Before the the flop they verbally agree to check it down.

WTF?

I make a comment along the lines of "I didn't think you were allowed to agree outload". One of the dudes says "we can say whatever we want", and the TD just walks away.

I am going to have to reread the rules for that poker room, but doesn't that blatantly break one of the basic rules of tournament poker?