11 October 2023 , 22:05
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NFL star Jason Kelce has blasted the use of artificial turf in the NFL after his brother, Travis, suffered an injury scare while playing for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
All-Pro tight end Travis, who is dating Taylor Swift, rolled his ankle on the artificial surface at the Minnesota Vikings' US Bank Stadium and immediately feared the worst. Fortunately for the future Hall of Famer, an X-ray revealed there was no structural damage and he was able to dig deep and return to the game, scoring what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
But speaking on their "New Heights" podcast this week, the Kelce brothers took the opportunity to call for artificial fields to be banned by the NFL due to what players believe is an increased risk of injury.
"Just get rid of the turf," Philadelphia Eagles center Jason, 35, said in a furious rant. "The thing that I notice the most is when there is a disproportionate amount of rubber pellets. When there are too many rubber pellets, it almost feels like you're in sandals. It feels weird.
"We need to get rid of turf altogether, and I don't want to hear 'It's an indoor stadium'. They make UV lights, you can grow grass inside. There are pot barns down the street that are growing mountains of pot, we an grow grass indoors, alright. I don't want to hear this nonsense.
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"Just stop it, we went through this with astro turf back in the day and it ruined guys' careers. Now we're seeing the same thing with this turf and it's only going to continue to happen. Just go back to the grass, get your UV lights. I don't care if it's Ford Field, put some dirt on the ground, put some grass on there with some UV lights and you are going to have grass. I've got to play at MetLife (Stadium) this week and that's partly why I am upset as well."
Travis Kelce played through the pain after spraining his ankle in Minnesota on Sunday.Travis was diagnosed with a low-ankle sprain and his involvement in Thursday's Week 6 opener against the Denver Broncos is questionable. The debate about the safety of turf has rumbled on for years, with New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers' ruptured Achilles suffered at MetLife Stadium in Week 1 fuelling players' resistance to artificial surfaces.
Travis, 34, echoed his brother's thoughts and indicated the structure of the turf played a role in his ankle twisting, adding: "My theory on any turf is there are black pellets and when your cleat is on top of turf, you don't get that natural digging into the ground. It just grabs on top of the turf.
"If you have too many black pellets, it kind of feels like you're on stilts and that's where it gets kind of iffy for me because the more unstable it is and the more you throw your feet in the ground, that is not a good equation."
The NFL has 15 stadiums with natural grass and 15 which use a variety of synthetic turf. The NFL Players' Association has called for all stadiums to use grass to improve player safety, but the league says its data indicates not statistical difference in injury risks between grass and artificial fields.