The Vikings might have known that the Giants would lose Domenik Hixon for the season.
Court documents filed by the team in a lawsuit involving the Metrodome cite “an NFL study that found the rate of anterior cruciate ligament injuries is 88 percent higher in games played on FieldTurf than in games played on grass.”
Hixon tore his ACL without contact in the first football practice on the FieldTurf at New Meadowlands Stadium. He is out for the season.
According to the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal, the company that runs the Metrodome “rejected FieldTurf’s bid after the Vikings expressed concerns about the safety of the company’s product — the main reason for replacing the Dome’s existing turf in the first place.”
FieldTurf USA is suing to stop the Vikings from using a competitor’s turf product. The Vikings say they chose Sportex because, “Medically, FieldTurf has proven to increase risk and severity of injury in NFL players.”
The report says FieldTurf claims “the NFL findings were flawed and points to a pair of studies by Montana State University that declared FieldTurf to be safe.”
Antrel Rolle was one of the more outspoken Giants about the condition of the Meadowlands turf, blaming it for Hixon’s injury.
“It just didn’t feel good to me at all. I can’t lie to you about that,” Rolle told ESPN.com. “I am not one to really complain or make excuses or anything, but they should definitely look into that as far as playing on that field in the future during the season.”
Jerry Reese said the turf was not to blame for Hixon’s injury.
“It could have happened right here on this grass field,” the GM told The Post.
The makers of FieldTurf agreed.
“With all due and sincere respect to Antrel Rolle, who is a wonderful player, he is simply not medically trained or qualified to make such a statement,” FieldTurf spokesman Chip Namias told ESPN.com. “The people who run NFL teams are ultra conscientious, and there’s a very good reason why 21 of the 32 member clubs use FieldTurf.”
Namias also told ESPN.com the study cited “was known to have significant flaws, and therefore, it has not been published anywhere — in fact, it hasn’t even been peer-reviewed.”
The Jets, who practiced at the new stadium Wednesday, did not seem bothered by the surface.
“I think it’s still top-notch. It’s soft. It’s level. There’s no divots. There’s no seams,” Bart Scott told ESPN.com. “You just have to break it in.”
Giants Stadium used FieldTurf since 2003.