'I Hate It!' Rams' Cooper Kupp Reacts to Playing On SoFi Turf Twice In 5 Days
For just the second time this season, the Los Angeles Rams will not play on Sunday as they prepare to host the New Orleans Saints in a crucial Thursday Night Football game.
Between this matchup and Sunday's 28-20 win over the Washington Commanders, the Rams will play two games on the artificial turf of SoFi Stadium in just five days, much to the dismay of star receiver Cooper Kupp.
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) runs the ball against Washington Commanders cornerback Kendall Fuller (29) during the first half at SoFi Stadium.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
“As you know, I hate it,” Kupp told reporters on Tuesday. “I’m not a fan of turf in general and it’s obviously tough going back-to-back on a short week. But it is what it is. I know people are certainly aware of it. If there’s going to be change that’s going to come, it’s not because people don’t know, you know? So it is what it’s. Like I said, it’s the same thing about playing Thursday night. Everyone’s got to do it. Everyone’s got to get it done on turf and just part of this game and you got to deal with it.”
Kupp has played most of his home games on turf and won Super Bowl MVP in the very same venue, yet he's still part of a growing chorus of players calling for all stadiums to use natural grass.
The "debate" (in quotation marks because pretty much no one is advocating for more turf) between grass and turf has taken off this season due to the sheer number of injuries. The most notable of said injuries was suffered by New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who suffered a torn Achilles on the artificial turf of MetLife Stadium in his first game with the club.
A 2022 study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that there were "a higher rate of foot and ankle injuries on artificial turf, both old-generation and new-generation turf, compared with natural grass."
As Kupp notes, though, both teams will have to deal with the drawbacks of artificial turf, and no one wants to see any more injuries.
