J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2026 May 3. doi: 10.1007/s40615-026-02992-2. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Patient-physician demographic concordance has been associated with improved communication, trust, and care experiences for minoritized patient populations, yet the demographic composition of team physicians in U.S. women’s professional sports has not been evaluated. We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate racial, sex, and intersectional concordance between players and team physicians in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Official league rosters and publicly available online sources were used to identify players and team physicians, and race and sex were independently classified by multiple reviewers. Descriptive statistics summarized player and physician demographics, and chi-square tests compared racial distributions by league. Intersectional representation was assessed by quantifying Black women among team physicians. We identified 162 WNBA players, 380 NWSL players, 39 WNBA physicians, and 51 NWSL physicians. In the WNBA, 69.1% of players versus 28.2% of physicians were Black, with 64.1% of physicians White. In the NWSL, 67.1% of players versus 82.4% of physicians were White, and 18.4% of players versus 5.9% of physicians were Black. Racial distributions differed significantly between players and physicians in both leagues (p < .01). Men comprised most team physicians (53.8% in the WNBA; 68.6% in the NWSL), and only five Black women were identified across all team physician roles. These findings demonstrate substantial racial, sex, and intersectional discordance between female professional athletes and their physicians, underscoring persistent gaps in workforce diversity that may have implications for athlete care.
PMID:42071128 | DOI:10.1007/s40615-026-02992-2
