Last December, the Panthers hosted the Lions in Week 16. It was the coldest home game in franchise history for Carolina. The resulting field conditions sparked a grievance from the NFL Players Association.
In his recent column regarding the injury rates between grass and artificial surfaces, NFLPA president JC Tretter shared some of the details regarding the situation in Carolina since Christmas Eve.
Per the union, the field at Bank of America Stadium had an unacceptable degree of hardness.
“We currently have a single test for all field surfaces called the ‘Clegg’ test, which simply measures a field’s hardness,” Tretter explained. “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.”
Tretter wrote that players in the Lions-Panthers game described the field as “concrete.”
“Players reported that they couldn’t even wear cleats because they wouldn’t sink into the turf,” Tretter wrote. “When we reached out to the league, they told us they were aware of these concerns and were working to remedy them.”
Tretter also complained that the league did not delay the game.
“Afterward, the league told us that late in the first half, the field finally fell below the 100g max,” Tretter wrote. “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.”
The NFL disagrees with the union’s characterization of the facts.
“The union’s assertions are incorrect,” NFL head of health and safety and PR Jeff Miller said Thursday in a statement, via ESPN.com. “But we will make our arguments in the appropriate CBA-mandated grievance process, which is ongoing.”
The fundamental reality is that the league can’t afford to delay or cancel regular-season games. While it has happened with preseason games, including the 2016 Hall of Fame game to a 2001 preseason game at Veteran Stadium between the Ravens and Eagles, the NFL doesn’t welcome the prospect of sending everyone home from a regular-season game and telling the network due to televise the contest, “Oops.” Especially when it comes to standalone national broadcasts.
That’s the basic reality of any and all pregame checks or reviews. Unless the NFL would actually postpone or cancel the game, what’s the point of even doing it?
Again, the pending grievance will resolve the situation from Charlotte in Week 16. If the NFLPA’s claims are accurate, hopefully appropriate action will be taken to make the league’s rules regarding field conditions something other than a box to be checked when everything is fine — and an inconvenient reality to be ignored when anything is missed.
NFLPA: Field at Carolina in Week 16 maxed out the hardness scale originally appeared on Pro Football Talk