Titans QB Will Levis throws elevator pitch to Roger Goodell on preferring grass surface over turf - "Numbers don't lie"
Will Levis will be in an uphill battle to start his NFL career. Despite being projected as a top-five pick, he fell to the Tennessee Titans in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2023 NFL draft.
He will have an opportunity to get revenge on the teams that need a quarterback but passed on him when he gets his shot.
But aside from fighting to show that they made a mistake, the former Kentucky standout is joining the plea for using grass surfaces in NFL stadiums.
He made a case for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on why artificial turf must be phased out in favor of grass surfaces:
“Going back to when I first started playing football, back when I was 5-6-7 years old, that's all I played on. I only played on grass growing up. That's when I built that confidence. So, naturally, playing on surfaces like grass, I'm much more comfortable.
"Player health and safety, that's the number one concern. The league's main priority is to keep their players healthy, and looking at the statistics, I'm a numbers guy; numbers don't lie. Grass is healthier. Your main assets are your players, and you wanna make them available at all times.
“That's what we want. It's what it really comes down to. We should get what we want when it comes to our health and to our safety. Hopefully, we can make it happen."
For full disclosure, Will Levis made the pitch as part of Pennington Seed, Inc.'s Flip The Turf campaign. Going to the specified webpage at the end of the video encourages visitors to sign their petition to phase out artificial turf for natural grass.
David Bakhtiari, George Kittle, Bryan Bresee, and Von Miller also joined the campaign. Miller was the main character in the video ad, which the company claimed was banned from airing during the 2023 NFL draft.
Statistics back Will Levis’ pitch for using natural grass on NFL playing fields
The petition claims that natural grass on football fields is suitable for players like Will Levis and for the environment. Based on injury data from the 2022 NFL season, they claim that playing on artificial turf leads to 28 percent more non-contact lower body injuries.
It also leads to 32 percent more non-contact knee injuries and 69 percent more ankle and foot injuries.
Meanwhile, artificial turf is also hazardous to irrigation systems because of microplastics. They cannot be recycled, and it inhibits the secretion of toxic gasses because they can get 60 degrees hotter than natural grass.
The petition also stated that 16 out of 32 NFL teams still use artificial turf in home games. Luckily for Will Levis, the Titans use Bermuda grass at Nissan Stadium. But the high rate may put his career and other NFL players at high risk.