Astroturf

817 Words2 Pages

Astroturf

All across America millions of people play football.

Every time these people step on the playing field

there is a chance of injury. That chance of injury is

greatly increased if those players are on an

artificial surface. Astro turf causes unnecessary and

avoidable injuries to the competitors. Grass is the

surface that all football practices and games should

take place on. Grass greatly reduces the chance of

injury and is preferred at all levels of the game.

There are several professional football players that

will testify against the turf. Most football players

in any level will detest turf. There has even been

studies done by the National Football League Players

Association about the negative consequences from

playing on turf. Turf covered about half of all the

professional and major college football fields a year

ago. Grass, not astro turf, should be the playing

surface for all levels of the game.

According to Southwest Recreational Industries

Incorporated (SRI), the new and most used kind of turf

is Astro Turf System 12. Astro Turf is the number one

supplier of artificial turf. Turf is thousands of

little nylon strips knitted together to make a carpet.

A thin layer of rubber is laid over asphalt and the

carpet is put over that layer of rubber. Astro Turf

claims that their new System 12 is more “player

friendly”(SRI, Astro Turf). They also state a couple

advantages associated with their new turf is that it

has “high impact shock absorbency” and “low

abrasiveness.” Ed Barnes of Time magazine, after many

interviews with professional football players, stated

that “skin shreds from its abrasiveness; heads hurt

from its hardness”(Barnes, Time.com). There is hardly

enough cushion there to take the impact a 300 pound

lineman driving another player into the ground. In

the player’s eyes this new turf does not do what it

claims it should. Although players should not be

afraid just because turf causes turf burns and gives a

slight headache after contact with it, anyone who

plays on this surface should be afraid of a season

ending knee or foot injury.

A few weeks into the 1999 NFL football season, Vinny

Testaverde, quarterback of the New York Jets, ruptured

his Achilles tendon. Testaverde was planting his foot

to go after a loose ball when he felt his Achilles

pop. Testaverde wasn’t even touched by another player

when this incident occurred. Testaverde’s agent, Mike

Azzarelli, was quoted saying “This turf is a

joke...It’s criminal”(Lange, Record Online).

Open Document