Brett Favre Inducted Into NFL Hall of Fame, Game Canceled Due To Field ‘Safety Concerns’
By Space Coast Daily // August 7, 2016
NFL: We are very disappointed for our fans
ABOVE VIDEO: Former NFL QB Brett Favre delivers his speech as he is inducted into the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame.
NFL .com – The NFL canceled Sunday night’s Hall of Fame game because of poor field conditions. The Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts are headed back home.
“I was notified at about 5:30 that there was a problem at midfield and in the end zones with some of the painting that it was kind of congealing and rubberized, which meant players might slip on it,” Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker told NFL Media’s Steve Wyche.
“The folks with the field tried to remediate that by dropping some other pellets but after talking to the coaches and staff for both the Packers and the Colts, there was a concern they might be able to remediate it but they would have to do something underneath the surface.”
The NFL and NFLPA issued the following statement:
“Due to safety concerns with the condition of the playing surface in Canton, tonight’s game between theIndianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers has been cancelled. We are very disappointed for our fans, but player safety is our primary concern, and as a result, we could not play an NFL game on this field tonight.”
The embarrassing news casts a pall on an otherwise great weekend. Sunday’s game wasn’t going to be much of a regular season preview, although it provides a chance for end-of-the-roster plays to impress coaches and make the team. Undrafted free agent Joe Callahan was expected to start at quarterback for the Packers. Starters usually play a series or two at most in the first preseason game.
“It sucks, but the conditions of the field weren’t safe for any player on either roster,” veteran Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson told NFL Media columnist Michael Silver.
More than anything, this is a huge letdown for the crowd in Ohio. This weekend in Canton proved to be a pilgrimage for Packers fans and now it has been cut short.
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