Chiefs players dinged training staff in NFLPA survey
An NFLPA survey was recently published showing results from all 32 NFL teams on how players feel about how the organization takes care of them. The Kansas City Chiefs, who won the Super Bowl in February, may be the number-one team on the field, but they have some work to do off it. Players made concerning remarks regarding how injuries are dealt with in the training staff categories.
The Chiefs were ranked 29th overall in the NFLPA team guide, as many Chiefs players feel the team needs to upgrade a few parts of the franchise:
“The Kansas City Chiefs are ranked 29th overall in our team guide. In general, the results show that the facility feels outdated and players would like to see upgrades across the board. Only 56% of respondents believe that club owner Clark Hunt is willing to invest the money to upgrade the facility, ranking him 27th in this category.
Players’ responses showed that treatment of players also falls well below other clubs across the NFL. For example, the Chiefs are one of 6 teams that still make certain players have roommates, and less than 50% of players feel they have enough room to be comfortable on flights.
Feedback on the training room was also notable; player respondents called for a more welcoming environment, and several players had negative opinions about head trainer Rick Burkholder, feeling that he does not treat players fairly and consistently, or with personal care.”
The training staff category received a poor grade on the NFLPA survey
The Chiefs ranked last in the NFL for their training staff. Their concerns had to do with head trainer Rick Burkholder:
With the lowest rating and concerning qualitative responses, we learned that players’ key concerns are with head trainer Rick Burkholder (not the rest of the training staff, which is generally well liked).
Player respondents expressed beliefs/opinions that: They feel discouraged from reporting their injuries. They do not feel they get the level of personal care that they should. They fear retribution for speaking up for better care.
That’s troubling for a team with several high-profile injuries last season and postseason. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce appeared willing to risk injury to win a championship. However, reports came out that wide receiver Mecole Hardman was “pushing it hard” to return from injury to practice for a playoff game, and the injury didn’t respond well. The Chiefs will have to look into making changes before next season.
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