Turf fields have been under scrutiny for years and this year's Super Bowl appears to have made another case for eliminating turf from football.
The Los Angeles Rams lost wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. early in the game from a non-contact injury due to his cleat getting snagged by artificial turf at SoFi Stadium. He ended up with a torn ACL that could threaten the rest of his career, and now many NFL players are calling for a ban on turf fields.
Green Bay Packers tackle David Bakhtiari is one of the players who is against turf being used as a playing surface. Bakhtiari recently took to Twitter to ask why the NFL is still using turf fields. He even went as far as to state that in this day and age, the league makes enough revenue to simply "maintain natural grass at this point".
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"It’s 2022. Why do we still have turf fields?.. I think all franchises make enough to afford and maintain natural grass at this point."
Bakhtiari, who is dealing with a torn ACL of his own, was not shy in his statement, which has also sparked much debate. Particularly about whether the NFL is cutting corners and choosing to ignore the seemingly obvious dangers of artificial turf.
Some fans have even gone as far as to call the NFL completely outdated since they still choose to use the classic sticks and chains combo to spot the ball.
NFL players unite under #FlipTheTurf after Super Bowl injury
NFL players, both past and present, are rallying behind Odell Beckham Jr.'s Super Bowl injury and are calling for all turf fields to be eliminated via the #FliptheTurf campaign.
SoFi Stadium, where Super Bowl 56 was held, is a $5 billion stadium that just recently opened and the owners may not want to spend another $1 million or so this quickly. However, Rams ownership now finds itself under fire following an injury to their own star player seemingly due to their own turf ground stadium
Regardless, players have solid points of discussion about why turf is hurting the league. George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers also took to Twitter, saying he is tired of "playing on cement," alluding to the hard surface of an artificial field.
Kittle's teammate, Nick Bosa, upped the ante, saying that every player in the league "is one play away from altering their career forever" when they step out to play on artificial turf.
Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb took to Twitter to speak from experience as he suffered a severe MCL injury on articificale turn turf:
Kicker Justin Tucker brings up an additional point on how bad turf is for the environment:
Turf is commonly used in the NFL today because there is minimal maintenance required as compared to grass and it can easily be assembled and torn down for other events held in a particular stadium.
However, convenience will only go so far when players keep getting injured. It will be interesting to see how Roger Goodell and the rest of the NFL handle this situation that is now squarely in the spotlight.
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