Tag: Sports Medicine

I think it’s safe to say that we all know why diversity is important, but when it comes to sports medicine, the issue of diversity–or lack thereof–can become a matter of life or death. Though it’s a problem that many Americans are largely unaware of, there is an alarming lack of racial and ethnic diversity among sports medical physicians, and the medical world at large. A 2021 study showed that 84.5% of physicians across American professional sports teams identified as white, while 8.4% identified as Asian, 5.8% identified as Black, and 1.3% identified as Latino. Studies also show that diverse medical teams lead to better health outcomes for patients or athletes of color. Because of the historical problem of racism in medicine, non-white patients face higher mortality rates when treated by white physicians, often because their pain isn’t taken as seriously. Less diversity also leads to an overall culture of less acceptance.