Team Coaches, Physicians Lead Capitol Hill Briefing on Changing Athletics Landscape

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), alongside the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), and Professional Sports Physician Coalition (PSPC) today convened a briefing on Capitol Hill to discuss policy solutions aimed at ensuring a safe path to compete for athletes and protecting clinicians.

The panel, which included former football coach Urban Meyer; AOSSM President Eric C. McCarty, MD, FAAOS; and Purdue University head team physician Carly Day, MD, explored the changing landscape of athletics and the challenges faced by team physicians. Panelists highlighted the policies needed to protect access to care for athletes, including:

• Safeguarding access to care for athletes at all levels
• Protecting clinicians providing good-faith care
• Guaranteed medical independence
• Maintaining continuity of care across state lines

"Millions of athletes, from high school to professional levels, rely on team physicians to keep them safe on and off the field," noted AAOS President Wilford K. Gibson, MD, FAAOS. "Having served as a volunteer team physician for 30 years, I've seen firsthand how the shifting liability environment has impacted orthopaedic surgeons. I'm proud to see physicians and team coaches come together to ensure athletes have access to high quality care and can confidently continue their athletic careers."

"Every championship, every scholarship, and every comeback begins with something most people never see: trusted medical care. If we lose the physicians willing to serve athletes, we put athlete health at risk," remarked Dr. McCarty, chief of sports medicine and shoulder surgery at the University of Colorado.

"As team physicians, our primary focus is to safeguard athlete health, but the recent increase in complex liability risks could deter some of the best and most experienced doctors from working on the sidelines," added Dr. Day, immediate past president of AMSSM. "To ensure student-athletes receive the best care, AMSSM is working with our orthopedic colleagues to advocate for state and national policies that establish common-sense liability rules so sports medicine physicians can continue to focus on the health and safety of athletes."

The Coaches Advisory Board, which is comprised of national championship-winning coaches and Hall of Fame inductees, also recently signed a letter to Congress encouraging lawmakers to stabilize the medical teams that athletes depend on without shielding negligence. The Board, including Meyer, Mack Brown, Mike Krzyzewski, Nick Saban, and Dawn Staley, provides strategic guidance on policies that impact athlete care.

About AAOS
The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Office of Government Relations promotes and advocates the viewpoint of the orthopaedic community before federal and state legislative, regulatory and executive agencies. Based in Washington, D.C., with additional staff in the AAOS' headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois, the Office of Government Relations identifies, analyzes and directs all health policy activities and initiatives to position the AAOS as the trusted leaders in advancing musculoskeletal health.

For more information on all AAOS advocacy efforts, visit https://www.aaos.org/advocacy/, and follow AAOS Advocacy on X and LinkedIn.

SOURCE American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons