The San Francisco 49ers were not pleased with the firmness of the practice field they were given ahead of Super Bowl LVIII, believing it to be too soft. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell insisted that the surface was good enough, calling it a “very playable surface,” but the NFL Players Association isn’t buying it.
NFLPA Executive Director Lloyd Howell called out Roger Goodell and the NFL for the condition of the field, saying that the condition of the field “really isn’t up to snuff for what our players deserve,” especially as they’re trying to prepare for the biggest game of the NFL season.
“Hopefully we’ve gotten to a workable condition, but the mere fact that you’re asking the question in our biggest event means that this is an issue,” Howell said according to Pro Football Talk.
NFLPA President J.C. Tretter agrees with this assessment from Howell, saying that while he does not think the field presents an injury risk to players, it is still a lower-quality field than he thinks the players deserve to have to deal with as they prepare for the Super Bowl.
“We need to raise the level to make surfaces high quality,” Tretter said.
We’ll have to see how it affects the Niners as they prepare for the Super Bowl matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
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