You think the Carolina Panthers were cold during their frosty Christmas Eve matchup with the Detroit Lions? Well, how’s this for frigid . . . ?
In their ongoing battle with the league over turf playing surfaces, the NFL Players Association released a statement on Wednesday regarding misleading injury rates. The post, penned by former center and NFLPA president J.C. Tretter, alleges the NFL selectively released incomplete data over the last two seasons in an attempt to cover up the dangers of turf fields.
Included in Tretter’s statement was a scathing account of the Week 16 conditions at Bank of America Stadium. That part reads as follows:
We currently have a single test for all field surfaces called the “Clegg” test, which simply measures a field’s hardness. While we are working diligently and collaboratively with the NFL’s engineering experts to devise more advanced ways to measure field performance and safety, this test is all that we currently have. However, even this simple measure was too much for the NFL to adhere to when push came to shove in Carolina.
Last year on Christmas Eve, Carolina’s field failed the Clegg test. For a surface to pass this test, it must measure below 100g (units of gravities), and the meter for this test goes up to a maximum of 150g. When the field in Carolina was tested during the pregame check, it came back as — you guessed it — 150g.
Players reached out and told us the field was way too hard, describing it as concrete. Players reported that they couldn’t even wear cleats because they wouldn’t sink into the turf. When we reached out to the league, they told us they were aware of these concerns and were working to remedy them.
However, instead of delaying the game or finding another way to fix the issue, the league gave the green light to kick off the game as scheduled. Afterward, the league told us that late in the first half, the field finally did fall below the 100g max. But the fact remains that 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.
That tilt just so happened to be the coldest home game in Panthers franchise history, one the visiting Lions weren’t particularly happy about. Here’s what Detroit quarterback Jared Goff had to say about the field that day:
“I thought the field conditions were below NFL-level standard, specifically pregame. I know it warmed up a bit as the game went on, but I don’t know what the deal is here. They need to make the turf not feel like cement. I don’t know why that is. You said it was the coldest game (here), so maybe it has something to do with that. It got better as the game went on, but pregame it was in no condition to be played on. Happy guys came out of this one relatively injury free.”
And in totally unrelated news, the CONCACAF Gold Cup returns to Bank of America Stadium this summer—where players will have the luxury of competing on, you guessed it, grass.
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