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BackgroundDespite increased awareness for promoting diversity, orthopaedics remains one of the least diverse specialties. Studying health care providers in women's professional sports provides a unique opportunity to analyze gender and racial diversity.HypothesesThere would be low female and minority representation across the various women's professional sports leagues. There would be an increased number of female head certified athletic trainers (ATCs) when compared with head team physicians (HTPs).Study designCross-sectional study.MethodsWe evaluated the perceived race and sex of designated HTPs and ATCs in the Women's National Basketball Association, National Women's Soccer League, and National Women's Hockey League. Type of doctorate degree, specialty, and years in practice were also collected. Kappa (κ) coefficient measurements were used to determine interobserver agreement on race. Categorical and continuous variables were analyzed using chi-square and t tests, respectively.ResultsThere were significantly more female ATCs than female HTPs (74.1% vs 37.5%; P = .01). Minority representation between HTPs and ATCs was not significantly different (20.8% vs 40.7%; P = .13). Black HTPs (12.5%) and Black ATCs (22.2%) composed the largest proportion among the minority groups. There was high interobserver agreement of perceived race across HTPs (κ = 1.0) and ATCs (κ = 0.95).ConclusionAlthough there were more female ATCs than HTPs in women's professional sports leagues, both cohorts lack perceived racial diversity. These data suggest an opportunity for diversification in medical and training staff of women's professional sports.

BackgroundDiscrepancies in race, ethnicity, and sex among health care providers and their patients have been shown to affect the patient-provider relationship as well as the quality of care. Currently, minority and female representation among orthopaedic surgeons remains low. Given the large proportion of minority athletes and their degree of public visibility, professional sports serves as an important arena within which to analyze the diversity of health care providers.PurposeTo describe and evaluate the current level of diversity of head team physicians (HTPs) and head athletic trainers (ATCs), primarily in terms of race and sex, within men's professional sports leagues in the United States.Study designCross-sectional study.MethodsFive major US professional sports leagues were evaluated: National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, and Major League Baseball. Publicly available data were collected to identify the HTPs and head ATCs for each team within these leagues. Two independent observers analyzed photographs and names of these individuals to determine his or her perceived race and sex, with disagreements being resolved by a third independent observer. Other physician data collected included graduate degree(s), specialty, and number of years in practice. Kappa coefficients (κ) were employed to evaluate interobserver reliability. Chi-square, Fisher exact, and t tests were used for statistical comparisons across leagues.ResultsThe κ values for perceived race were 0.85 for HTPs and 0.89 for head ATCs, representing near-perfect interobserver agreement. Minorities comprised 15.5% of HTPs and 20.7% of ATCs (P = .24). Women comprised 3.9% of HTPs and 1.3% of head ATCs (P = .017). The majority of HTPs were orthopaedic surgeons with medical doctorates. Female HTPs had significantly fewer years in practice compared with male HTPs (15.0 ± 4.9 vs 23.1 ± 9.6; P = .04).ConclusionThe lead physicians and athletic training providers for men's professional sports teams demonstrated low rates of minority and female representation, denoting a highly visible area for discussing the role of increased diversity in health care.