By Katy Curran
Female health care professionals are commonplace in every aspect of the high school and college level sports scene. However, many feel that it may take years before they are able to work in any of the four male-dominated professional sports in the United States. At least in one major sport there has been a breakthrough. The Baltimore Orioles' baseball club hired physician and orthopedic surgeon Michelle Andrews, M.D. With this new position, Andrews became the first woman to work in health care in Major League Baseball.
"Everyone was positive throughout the season and generally very happy to have me around," said Andrews, 35, who is the Assistant Director of Sports Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and was recently selected to serve on a U.S. Olympic Committee board which addresses female athletes' health-issues. "The Orioles management and the players respected me as a professional and my capabilities, which made it easier."
Fact: According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons of the 14,800 Board Certified orthopedic surgeons, approximately 1.6 percent are female.
Breaking the male barriers that exist in the traditional testosterone-steeped sports leagues -- football, baseball, basketball, and hockey -- is not going to be an easy task.
Jenny Stone, the Head Athletic Trainer at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs where "everything is coed," admits that she has never had a "burning desire" to work in male-dominated professional sports. "It is a double-edged sword -- some of it has to do with preferences, namely the coaches preference of who he wants to work with," said Stone. "[Female health professionals have not been chosen] probably due to 1.) tradition and 2.) lack of education of coaches and high level management."
Dallas Cowboys head athletic trainer Kevin O'Neill does not question that women are qualified to work as athletic trainers in the pros but feels there are three important factors that should be considered:
Facility Set-Up "Some of these areas that these clubs are working in on a daily basis are not set up facility-wise to accommodate a women's presence. It is not only the day-to-day facility, but the stadium as well on game-day events "
Player's Wives "Their husbands make lots of money," said O'Neill. "They do not want their husband's head turned in another direction and are protective of them. I do not think their concern is out of jealousy, but they are careful as to who is around their husbands on a daily basis and in what manner."
Owners Scared "When you look at that situation and know there were millions of dollars involved, I think that owners are extremely sensitized to say "Hey, I want to eliminate as many possibilities rather than look to expose more women to that type of setting," said O'Neill.
O'Neill believes that co-educational facilities must be provided, players' wives must be educated about the health professional's ethics, and an owner or general manager must step forward and express their confidence with a hire before a female athletic trainer is seen in one of the major league pro sports.
Women athletic trainers are more accepted on the collegiate level than in the pros, says O'Neill, because of the educational environment prevalent on a college campus. At the professional level, the learning process is supposed to have been completed.
Long Road to the Majors "There have been a lot of challenges along the way," said Donna Papangellin, a certified athletic trainer who formerly worked for the Class AA Tulsa Drillers, a Texas Rangers minor league baseball team. "I want to work in the Major Leagues, but you have to pay your dues and that is not going to happen overnight."
"I think players can adapt to women in the training room, if and when the time is right," said O'Neill. "And I don't think any of us in the NFL knows when that time is going to be -- that decision is going to be up to upper level management."
Former Texas Rangers' Director of Player Development Marty Scott hired Papangellin, 34, four years ago after her resume crossed his desk with the initials "D.L." "I used my initials on my resume so people could look at my credentials before looking at the fact that I am a woman," said Papangellin.
Scott admits that he was shocked that "D.L." was a woman, however she was the most qualified applicant. "The best person gets the job, and she got it," said Scott. Much like the players, Papangellin's chances of a spot in the major leagues may not arise for years because of low attrition rates and limited opportunities. "It's an uphill road for anybody," said Scott, who says the starting salary for minor league trainers is about $12,000 for a rigorous 136-game season which starts in spring training and ends in September with only seven scheduled days off.
Fact: 44 percent of the 18,700 members of the National Athletic Trainer's Association (NATA) are female.
Washington Capitals nutritionist Pat Mann, Ph.D., R.D. has been working with the National Hockey league team for five years. "They took to (the nutrition program)exceptionally well," said Mann. "For a group of males that were not used to working with a female at all and not at all interested in the role of nutrition, it has been exceptional."
Capitals Center Dale Hunter, 33, who has been in the NHL for over 10 years, credits Mann for adding time to his career. "I'm quicker, leaner, and injury free," said Hunter. "It has given me an edge that has made the difference in my career."
Mann, who is regarded as an integral part of the Capitals by the coaching staff, athletic trainers, and players, educated the players and their wives by taking the newer players shopping and meeting with family members about eating healthy. "Sure, we tease her, but we trust her," said Hunter. "She has earned our trust and respect."
Upstart League Shows New Attitude In 1980, Kelly Donnelly Griffin, a freshman field hockey player at Towson State College, walked into the training room and said that she wanted to be a trainer. She recalls that at the time the training room consisted of four males and the head trainer "it was very male-oriented and wasn't very receptive" but allowed her an opportunity.
"I stuck with it and didn't leave until I loved everything about it. I was given the football team my senior year -- the first time that a woman was given the opportunity to travel and be the head student trainer for a men's team," said Griffin.
Griffin, who works full-time as a physical therapist and athletic trainer at Towson Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center In Maryland, is the athletic trainer for the Philadelphia Wings, part of the professional Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL).
"I honestly think they are a great bunch of guys," she said. "This is not their whole life. There is a definite thrill to be in front of 17,000 people, we are both doing it because we love it."
Griffin, 5'4" and 125 pounds, carries her equipment, water coolers, and ice to and from the player's box. She uses a small room inside the Philadelphia Spectrum located near the locker room to tape and treat players.
Women are highly visible in the MILL with five females working in the league as certified athletic trainers. They have to travel with men. There is not a lot of money and the people who are involved are doing it because they love it," said B.J. Baker, head athletic trainer for the Boston Blazers who works with Kate Peck and Lynn Sidor. Baker, who works full-time as an athletic trainer at Harvard University, stresses that because the women are professionals that limits the potential for problems.
"They get along with the players, they interact and share in the fun, but the women I know and have worked with know where to draw the line," said Baker.
Kim Cunningham, 32, is entering her eighth season working in the MILL. As head athletic trainer for the New York Saints, she says there are traditional sexist stereotypes that surround female athletic trainers. "I often hear that women are too emotional to deal with situations," said Cunningham, who received her master's degree from Syracuse University. According to Cunningham, Syracuse does not have females working with football, men's basketball, or lacrosse.
"That experience toughened me up," said Cunningham. But it didn't stop her from gaining experience. While at SU, she volunteered her services to a club lacrosse league. She also enrolled in a course entitled the Advanced Theory of Coaching Football instructed by former SU Football and Patriots Coach Dick McPherson so she could learn each of the positions and better understand how to treat an injured player.
The FutureCunningham believes that with the large number of women working with men's teams on the college level it won't be long before doors will open up. "It may be just a matter of banging on doors," said Cunningham. "And the thing with professional sports is that it is connections -- it is who you know."
Frank Walters, Ph.D., coordinator for health care services for the D.C. Public Schools has six females on his staff of
"I just look at them as trained professionals -- the quality of health care should not be related to gender," said Walters.
"It's a place all of us belong," said Walters about the male-dominated sports arena. "Because it is a potential spot in the marketplace, and there are very few opportunities that exist. "Someone has to be there -- and why not a woman?"
Katy Curran, M.S., A.T.,C. is a certified athletic trainer and coordinates the Pediatric Sports Medicine Program at Children's National Center in Washington, D.C. She is also a member of the National Athletic Trainers' Association's Public Relations Committee.