Packers OT, David Bakhtiari Has Questions for the NFL About Playing Football on Artificial Turf: ‘It’s 2022. Why Do We Still Have Turf Fields?.. I Think All Franchises Make Enough to Afford and Maintain Natural Grass at This Point.’

The year is 2022, and the world is changing all the time. Contrary to this, the NFL appears to be stuck in the 1970’s era when it comes to artificial turf. Therefore, Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari has a complaint about the NFL for this specific reason.

Apparently, Bakhtiari is not a fan of artificial turf and is pushing for the NFL to switch to natural grass. In a tweet, he posted recently: “It’s 2022. Why do we still have turf fields?” Furthermore, he also mentioned that NFL franchises make enough to afford to have their games on natural grass.

Possibly, he posted the tweet as a result of the number of injuries that occur playing on the synthetic grass. In addition, Bakhtiari himself is recovering from a torn ACL, he suffered in 2020. Moreover, he did not play many games this past season and even missed the divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers.

David Bakhtiari and Nick Bosa have similar demands

Earlier this month, Odell Beckham Jr sustained a knee injury in a non-contact play during the Super Bowl game. He was therefore ruled out of a very important game. In response, Niners‘ defensive end, Nick Bosa took to Twitter and offered his support to the petition, “FlipTheTurf”.

Bosa stated that football played on natural grass would eliminate many injuries that occur occasionally. Since he has personally experienced the drawbacks of playing on the turf, he wants the NFL to switch to natural grass.

Artificial turf has its downsides

During the 2017-2018 athletic season, Case Western Reserve University and UH Sports Medicine Institute conducted research comparing injury rates on artificial versus natural playing surfaces. The study collected and analyzed data from over 26 high-school athletic trainers.

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Researchers found that artificial turf is 58% more likely to cause injuries to athletes than natural grass. Moreover, they reported that injuries were higher among athletes who play football, soccer, or rugby. Furthermore, they observed an increased risk of ACL injuries in football athletes who play on turf as opposed to natural grass.

Over the years, artificial turf has improved in both quality and ease of maintenance. Nonetheless, as far as player safety is concerned, natural grass is preferable. Therefore, David Bakhtiari and Nick Bosa are all in favor of playing on natural grass. In this regard, it will be interesting to see if the NFL follows this same logic and switches to playing on natural grass.

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