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The Carolina Panthers banned hoverboards after players were found racing in hallways

The Carolina Panthers banned hoverboards after players were found racing in hallways

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It's not just major retailers, tech shows, and airlines banning hoverboards — now NFL teams have also started restricting the use of Swagways and the like for fear of injury. Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera today confirmed that he'd banned the use of the devices inside the NFL team's headquarters after he found a group of players "drag-racing down the hallways" at the Bank of America stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"We're trying to limit exposure to injury."

Rivera said his decision to ban the so-called hoverboards was influenced by watching YouTube videos that showed the devices spontaneously catching fire or blowing up. "Truthfully, somebody told me about them igniting so I went on YouTube and found them," the head coach said on Monday. Rivera also worried about how precarious the boards were, given the importance of NFL players minimizing risk. "We're trying to limit their exposure to injury," Rivera said, having seen videos that showed people falling off their boards, or making sharp turns into other people, obstacles, or even swimming pools.

Prior to Rivera's hoverboard edict — which was handed down last year — Fox Sports says that a group of 25 players, led by cornerback Bene Benwikere, had used the devices to travel en masse to a local food truck. Benwikere fractured his leg later in the season, but Rivera can at least be sure that devastating injury came at the hands of an armored opponent, rather than at the mercy of a small wheeled board.