A Professional Perspective
The ambiance was casual, as I
sat crosslegged on one of the training room benches in the office of the
Emory training facility, and Kendra sat facing me on a stool. It almost
mimicked the same positioning as I sit before practice when Kendra tapes my
ankles.
I started the recording application on my iphone, and then proceeded to ask Kendra the first question. I had warned her this interview was supposed to be causal, almost more of a conversation. "So, how long have you been an athletic trainer at the college level" I asked her. "Do you want me to include undergraduate?" she clarified. "Yeah, sure," I said. "6 years." I smiled, and told her she was allowed to elaborate on her answer. "This is just a conversation, not an interview. Tell me anything you think is relevant. The questions are only here for guidance." It's interesting. With each person I have interviewed this semester, there is always some kind of different vibe or expectation. With Ilene who I interviewed for my last project, it was very casual, definitely more of a conversation than an interview. But here with Kendra, I could tell she was expecting something more formal. |
I continued asking her questions about her career and her experiences as a trainer with concussions. She told me in her 6 years working as an athletic trainer for her undergraduate degree, and now for her master's, she had dealt with over 50 concussions.
I asked about the protocol for dealing with head injuries, and about her knowledge of the concussion crisis. She told me she had read the book I mentioned in my research paper, and she seemed quite interested in the topic. I asked her opinion on what was going on in the NFL, and she told me although she isn’t aware of the specific circumstances, she knows the professional athletes are required to sign a waiver with their contract that says they are aware of the risks of the sport. This is just like any other manual labor job; there is risk involved. Her comment about this got me thinking about this idea. I think because football is a sport, unlike other physical labor jobs, the concussion issue is looked at differently, when legally it should not be because it is a job like any other. |