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Following the ban of so-called hoverboards by major retailers including Amazon, as well as tech show CES, NFL side the Carolina Panthers have now banned their players from using the devices.
The Segway-like modes of transport have been in the news thanks to their habit of catching fire and exploding.
The Super Bowl-chasing team’s coach Ron Rivera confirmed the ban, saying he had caught several players racing hoverboards down hallways at the team’s stadium in Charlotte.
He added that after seeing players “drag-racing down hallways” he had to look up exploding incidents online before banning them.
“Truthfully, somebody told me about them igniting so I went on YouTube and found them,” he said.
We’re trying to limit their (the players) exposure to injury.”
Amazon took the step of encouraging users to return the devices in exchange for a refund at the end of last year, and the biggest consumer technology event in the world, CES, banned hoverboards and Segways as a form of transport around the venues of the Las Vegas Convention Centre where it takes place.
Retailers in the UK have also issued warnings on the products.
