“Take CARE OF YOUR PLAYERS, man!”: NFL refuses to remove slim-cut turf fields after protest by NFLPA
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NFLPA President JC Tretter
The NFL consists of mainly three types of grounds – slit-firm, dual fiber, and monofilament. However, amongst these three types, it has been seen from time to time that the injury rates in the slit firm turfs are very high. It’s a matter of concern for the players as they can be seriously injured, which will keep them sidelined for long periods.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has written a strongly worded letter to the league for the “immediate replacement and ban” of slit-film turf fields across the league.
Recently, Travis and John Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, too, have supported the views of the NFLPA. Travis Kelce said that his knees and joints hurt every time he played on the turf surface and it’s dangerous for them. He urged the NFL to take care of the safety of their players.
NFLPA President JC Tretter’s protests go in vain as the NFL doesn’t change its stance
The President of the NFL Player’s Association JC Tretter has vocally protested against the quality of the fields provided, which must be updated. He said that just because the quality of the grounds passed the inspection test as per NFL standards does not mean they account for absolute safety.
“Advocating for safer working conditions is a core job of our union, and there are few greater examples of this than raising the standards of the fields we practice and play on,” NFLPA President JC Tretter said. “Week after week, we have heard players sound off on the need to improve our fields, too often after a player suffers an injury. This week, we have seen the NFL PR machine go into overdrive to spin a more favorable narrative to what the union and players know is a problem.”
But despite these protests, Tretter reported that “the NFL has not only refused to mandate this change immediately, but they have also refused to commit to mandating a change away from slit film in the future at all.”
“If the NFL is serious about their claims that they make data-based decisions and that they care about player safety, then we have some actionable items for them.“
“Until we have those standards in place, the NFL needs to be much more conservative when we have visible issues with the fields. The current field inspections do not account for performance and safety, so we should stop saying that these fields are safe to play on based on the fact they passed said inspection,” Tretter said.
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