The NFL’s owners will vote next week on a resolution to allow active players to participate in the 2028 Olympics. It’s all part of the broader effort to globalize the game by, as the resolution explains, “increasing fan and public interest in flag football.”
The resolution has several interesting components. Here’s one that caught my eye. The one-page document requires “[a]n agreement that Olympic flag football teams will implement certain minimum standards for medical staff and field surfaces to be eligible for an NFL Player to participate in Olympic flag football for such team.”
Certain minimum standards for field surfaces, eh?
On one level, it’s sensible. The risk of injury to the NFL players who will be playing flag football would only increase if the fields are strewn with rocks or divots or seams or other imperfections.
On another level, it’s hypocritical. The players have made it clear that they want grass surfaces in every NFL stadium. The league refuses to do it. But when FIFA demanded it for NFL stadiums that will be hosting World Cup matches next year, the owners moved heaven and earth to grow grass where it otherwise doesn’t.
That said, the NFL currently has “certain minimum standards” for its surfaces. It just refuses to give the players the surface they prefer.
The owners’ insistence on protecting their investment in the players while playing flag football in the Olympics nevertheless conflicts with the refusal to ensure the best and safest surfaces possible while playing tackle football. And while the league has talking points ready to go at a moment’s notice to support playing on the fake stuff, most players will explain — in no uncertain terms — that grass is better.
Fewer injuries. Less soreness. A better overall football experience.
Given the extent to which the Olympics will benefit from having active NFL players involved, the league has the leverage to make FIFA-style demands. If, however, the NFL pushes too hard for the best surface, it will only highlight the refusal to give the players that same kind of field all the time.
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