It appears that the Carolina Panthers organization will not be able to run away from NFL players’ assertion that the turf at Bank of America Stadium is “unsafe.” If you’re scratching your head at this, let me jog your memory. The Panthers and the Detroit Lions played at the stadium this past Christmas Eve. Surely you haven’t forgotten how cold that was? BRUTAL cold.
Anyway, not to get too technical with the measuring methodology used to determine playing surface safety, but it was off the charts bad. Players came in from warm-ups and told officials they couldn’t get footing as their cleats could not penetrate the turf. The league acknowledged this and said basically, “We’re working on it.”
However, instead of resolving the issue or delaying the start of the game, the league said, “Play ball.” Yup, for all the lip service the NFL gives about “player safety,” the league knowingly and willingly sent its players out to play on what they described as concrete. To put it in simple, labor terms, the NFL forced its employees to work in an unsafe work environment. According to msn.com, NFL Players Association (the player’s union) President and former player, JC Trotter has put the league on notice, officially declaring the field at Bank of America Stadium “unsafe.”
“The players in that game had to play on a field that the league acknowledges was not safe,. That is beyond frustrating to players and unacceptable in the eyes of our union.”
No word of response from the NFL at this time.
Tretter, the @NFLPA president, cites the Christmas Eve Bank of America Stadium-hosted matchup between the Panthers and Lions as an unsafe atmosphere due to the quality of the turf in the cold weather. https://t.co/hO5aGhIzIu pic.twitter.com/sFRhd3NOwz
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) April 20, 2023
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