MJ Acosta joins us as the first guest in our Interprofessional Interview series. She currently works as a broadcaster on NFL Network, is an emmy award winning sportscaster, and a curly hair advocate. She was selected in an effort to bring awareness to athletic trainers about the role of the sports reporter, their view of the sports medicine staff, as well as her representation of women of color and natural hair.
Conversation Highlights:
- How to leverage previous experience that may otherwise be unrelated to your career in a way that helps propel you forward. In MJ’s case, she had a background in dance & pageantry, she used that to open doors as an NFL cheerleader, then channeled that into on-camera work.
- The respect and authority of the sports medicine staff in how it relates to speaking to media. She spoke in detail about how reporters are limited in what they can say and that journalistic integrity restricts them from make inferences about injuries. Though she admitted they will always questions about injuries and attempt to obtain information, she respects the work that athletic trainers have to do in protecting the athlete.
- How we can show up authentically as ourselves, even when on national television. MJ explains her transition from constantly straightening her hair to her natural curl and its (sometimes) unpredictable ways. She shares how other little girls write to her about how empowering it is to see someone who looks like them on television. Her representation on television as an Afro-Latina woman rocking her curly hair means a lot to many others who want to live authentically in their own ways.
Interprofessional Interviews
This interview series is aimed at bringing awareness to the athletic trainer’s role in the larger sport and healthcare market. Understanding outside professionals’ views of athletic training and also hearing about their unique roles will allow us to practice more globally while expanding our awareness of the greater market we operate in. Moreover, there is a CAATE education update for the 2020 standards that places a large emphasis on how to work, communicate, understand, and grow alongside other professionals. We hope that these interviews will be one way for athletic trainers to gain access and participate in this discussion with various industries. Though we have become really great at talking to each other, it’s time we expand this conversation to include others.
