EAGAN, Minnesota (AP) — The NFL has expanded a program for minorities and women in sports medicine with the goal of…
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The NFL has expanded a minority and women’s sports medicine program with the goal of increasing diversity among athletic coaches and medical staff across the league in line with similar initiatives for coaches and the front office.
The league announced Monday at spring owner meetings in Minnesota an expansion of the pool to bring together diverse students from 19 medical schools with NFL clubs.
The NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline initiative started last year with 14 medical students from historically black colleges and universities completing month-long clinical rotations with eight NFL teams in partnership with the NFL Physicians Society and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society. Medical students interested in primary care sports medicine and orthopedic surgery were selected for the pilot program, and this year the number of participants more than doubled.
“We need more minorities, diverse people. We need more women to continue participating in programs, in colleges and in high school,” said Reggie Scott, vice president of sports medicine and performance for the Los Angeles Rams.
The league plans to expand the initiative in the future to include other player care disciplines such as physical therapy and behavioral health into the immersive and holistic program. The overarching goal is to reinforce the historical under-representation of women, as well as Black, Latino and other minorities in this area.
With the education process spanning more than a decade, from medical school to residency to fellowship, another goal of the NFL is to raise awareness of these professions higher up.
“The sooner we can inspire people, the sooner they can address the requirements, bring them into the programs and then allow them to start looking for mentors,” said Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer.
“So not only are they knowledgeable in the field, but they can also be confident applicants when it comes to enrolling and settling into areas like orthopedic surgery,” said Kelsey Henderson, a graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville. the 2022 contestant was with the Tennessee Titans.
Henderson had a picture of her with Sills and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in her yearbook, a potential inspiration for future contestants.
“When I applied to medical school, I really didn’t have any mentors, so I just had to figure it out for myself,” said Omolayo Dada, a 2022 program participant from Atlanta’s Morehouse School of Medicine who worked with the San Francisco 49ers.
“I felt like part of the family from the start,” Dada said.
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