Former Athletic Trainer Claims Pressure from Coaches

Former Texas A&M head athletic trainer Karl Kapchinski claims that he felt pressure from Aggie coaches that influenced his medical decisions.

“They would always, you know, tend to put pressure on you to get good players back,” Kapchinski said during an interview on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

Kapchinski was the head trainer for 20 A&M sports teams. He also oversaw 12 trainers, a physical therapist and two nutritionists. According to the Eagle his duties included supervising the student-athlete drug testing program.

Kapchinski was named the Division 1 College Athletic Trainer of the Year by the National Athletic Trainer’s Association in 2005, and he was inducted into the Southwest Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame in 2014.

Kapchinski worked at the school for 31 years but was fired in late 2013 due to “unacceptable job performance.” He recently filed a civil suit against A&M claiming his termination was based on age discrimination. He was 56 when he was fired.

Kapchinski was also asked if he ever cleared a player to return to action, then wish he hadn’t. His responded with a firm yes, explaining that his decision “resulted in the player having a subsequent injury.”

You can view a transcript provided by HBO of Kapchinski’s interview by clicking here.