Matthew Bores 

Mdb5896@psu.edu

During Super Bowl 56, star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for the Los Angeles Rams was injured early on after a non-contact play. According to NFL Insider Jason Las Canfora, Beckham is believed to have suffered the same torn ACL in the same knee as he did last season with the Cleveland Browns. After the injury, there has been outcry for teams to stop the use of turf in the stadiums, many believing that it is the source of not just Beckham’s injury, but many players. 

Nick Chubb, running back for the Cleveland Browns, said, “90% of NFL Players prefer real grass, including me! In 2020 I sprained my MCL on artificial turf.” Another player who has taken this stance is Nick Bosa, defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers. “Every player is one play away from altering their career forever when playing on turf. I experienced the bad side of this and it could have been avoided.” Not just these two, but many more have been outspoken for there preference in real grass. 

They have sided with a company called Pennington Lawn and Garden Care Products. They are running a campaign called “Flip the Turf”, and players in the NFL have started to push for change in the League for real grass. Jeff Kerr, a writer for CBS’s NFL news, wrote about the statistics behind the campaign to bring to light that players have a  substantial stance in the switch from turf to real grass.  “28% more non-contact lower body injuries.” Pennington found that turf can heat up 60 degrees hotter than normal grass which in turn leads to more harmful gasses coming off the turf. They also reported that turf cannot be recycled in the United States.

An estimated 330 million pounds of landfill have been reported from this and it will only get worse. With more players being outspoken about their issues with turf and Pennington coming to give the statistics, the NFL should seriously reconsider making fields turf and should take into account the health and safety of those who play for their league.