Just this getting publicity and media run alone may force the Texans to reconsider their field choice options. I would like grass... and Reliant does get enough sun during the day to get grass to grow there (in a contiguous fashion... ie - without the tray system). The issue is that they prefer to use Reliant for other events, thus requiring removal of the grass field in a tray-like fashion.
The guy obviously wants a future career in the NFL. That's why he's not suing the Texans or the league.
I don't think he should get anything. The field looks a little slippery at times, but I don't think it's hazardous. Football fields come in a lot of different types and conditions: Natural, artificial, muddy, wet, hard, soft, snow covered. One of the reasons the Texans decided to go with natural turf is because it was thought to be the best and safest surface for football. I think it was once believed that a player could get a cleat stuck in artificial turf and sustain a serious injury to the foot or leg. I think today's artificial turf is better than ever, so maybe it would be a good time to make a change. But, I don't see where this guy's injury was caused by the turf. I haven't heard many Texan players or opposing players complain about the turf at Reliant. I've heard announcers talk about the turf and how it's put together, but other than it being a little slippery, I haven't noticed it being all that bad.
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He's got a good case but I think the suspensions will make it hard for him to prove causation. It will be hard for him to show that the turf injury ended his career and not the suspension. No team will sign a punter and wait 8 games for him to serve his suspension when they can just sign someone else to play immediately.
Today's turf is much, much better than in the past and is safer than many natural fields. They're designed to help fight against the injuries turf was known for and to also help to prevent concussions from falls. That said, Reliant will require a roll up system similar to what is used in Dallas. As someone from the industry, I'm not crazy about the system because it's difficult to maintain the turf when you're constantly rolling it up and rolling it back out. The good thing is, this is an NFL team and they can afford a couple hundred grand every few years to replace the field.
Unfortunately, Reliant does not get enough direct sunlight on the field, that's why they had to go to the tray system and grow the grass outside of the stadium. It has gotten better but if they wanted more games played (high school, etc...) there was very few grass options so that's why field turf was selected.
Reliant Stadium recently installed a synthetic fieldturf for non-NFL events. IE: High school football and possibly some college bowl games. This should help with the wear and tear and improve the real grass surface that the Texans use. This was a major problem in the past because of the constant grind of high school and bowl games repeatedly being used before Texans games. http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/atas...cle_a63d47d2-34ff-5887-9a68-b1081c61b43d.html
