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The movement to replace artificial turf with turf continues. More and more players and coaches are saying something about the importance of protecting players by covering real soil on real turf.
Cooper Cup, a Rams receiver whose team is playing on artificial turf in one of the league’s newest stadiums, recently said all games should be played on grass. One Jalen Ramsey was asked about the situation during Friday’s weekly press conference.
“Grass,” Ramsey said of his taste. “I feel like you’re better. You’ll understand what I’m trying to say.It feels different.You can feel the grass in a different way from the grass.The grass may give it a little.How to plant, how to break, It feels better in the hand, but it doesn’t stumble, and I play on concrete when I need to.”
Many players have such a mindset. Either because they really feel that way, or because they believe they need to say it in order to be perceived as tough.
Ramsay was also asked if the lawn and turf question was a player safety issue.
“It’s a little bit, but it’s just that there’s really nothing we can do about it,” Ramsey said. ”
Ramsey seems resigned to the fact that it doesn’t matter. Stan Kroenke could have built a stadium with a turf system, but it was much more expensive to do so. The Rams or Chargers can cover man-made fields quickly and easily whenever any of a variety of non-football-generating events are held at the venue. It also required additional costs to create a system that would roll the grass fields into the stadium, the system currently used in Arizona and Las Vegas.
Surface safety issues have received additional attention after Chargers cornerback JC Jackson suffered a non-contact, season-ending knee injury on the surface. The same thing happened to Rams receiver Odell Beckham Jr. during Super Bowl LVI.
“Sometimes accidents happen, don’t you think?” said Ramsey. “It’s also relevant, but like I said, I like grass more than grass, but that’s it. come on and I’ll try to give you guys a simple answer, or I can give you a simple answer, but it’s never really that simple, it takes a business to build a huge stadium like this We need it so that’s just part of it, that’s the reality, that’s part of it, it’s not like we’re really complaining because everybody has to deal with it. But whether it was just a freak accident or the turf was to blame, it’s disappointing to see injuries like that. It’s just sad to see
Ramsey may seem nonchalant about the issue, but he’s aptly resigned to the fact that no matter how much someone complains, change is unlikely to happen.
Yet, everyone should continue to seek change. It’s easy to become numb to why owners don’t pay for a safer playing surface. If enough people make enough noise about it, there is no chance that some money can be put into a superyacht maintenance budget and used to improve the safer playing surface of the football stadiums they use. increase.
In recent months, Super Bowl-winning coaches like Jon Harbaugh and Pete Carroll have spoken out. The position of the union is also clear. More people need to keep repeating it out loud to make a difference.