On a Sunday afternoon inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, tens of thousands of fans focus on what unfolds under the lights—the collisions on the field, the split-second decisions, the momentum shifts that can define a season.

What most never see is the network of physicians, athletic trainers, surgeons, researchers and performance specialists working behind the scenes.

Before kickoff, they have already reviewed injuries, evaluated treatment plans and prepared for emergencies. During the game, they stand just steps from the action, watching every movement with clinical precision. Afterward, while fans stream toward parking lots and postgame shows begin, their work often continues late into the night.

For Atlanta’s professional sports franchises, including the Falcons, Hawks, Braves and Dream, that responsibility belongs to Emory Healthcare.

The health system serves as the official healthcare provider for the city’s major professional teams, overseeing everything from orthopedic injuries and surgeries to cardiology, nutrition, rehabilitation and preventive care. But the relationships extend far beyond sideline coverage or high-profile athletes.

Over the past two decades, the partnerships have helped shape one of the country’s most respected sports medicine programs—one that physicians say increasingly influences how injuries are prevented, treated and studied for athletes and non-athletes alike.

“What we learn from treating elite athletes helps us improve care for everyone,” says John Xerogeanes, chief of sports medicine at Emory and co-head orthopaedist for Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. “Whether it’s a professional athlete, a high school athlete or someone who just wants to stay active, the goal is the same: helping people recover safely and get back to the life they want to live.”

Building Atlanta’s sports medicine ecosystem

The roots of Emory’s sports medicine presence began modestly.

Xerogeanes first worked with athletes at Emory University before expanding into college athletics with Georgia Tech around 2000. Soon after, the Atlanta Falcons approached Emory physicians about taking over medical coverage. Other teams followed.

At first, the relationships centered mostly on physician coverage. Over time, however, broader institutional partnerships evolved.

One turning point came when Emory and the Atlanta Hawks collaborated on what became the Emory Sports Medicine Complex in Brookhaven—a facility physically integrated with the Hawks’ practice operations.

“It was revolutionary at the time,” Xerogeanes says. “The idea was that orthopaedic and sports medicine care would exist right alongside where the athletes trained every day.”

The model soon spread. Similar arrangements followed with the Falcons in Flowery Branch and later with the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta United FC.

Today, Emory physicians are deeply embedded within Atlanta’s professional sports landscape.

Beyond torn ligaments and broken bones

Athletes may need cardiologists, dermatologists, endocrinologists, mental health professionals or sleep specialists. Emory’s role, physicians say, increasingly resembles a comprehensive health system built around performance medicine.

“It’s a one-stop shop,” Xerogeanes says. “The athlete may come to us initially for a sports injury, but they’re people first. They have the same medical needs everyone else has.”

That broad, coordinated approach reflects how modern sports medicine has advanced. At the professional level, maintaining peak performance requires constant monitoring of strength, biomechanics, nutrition, recovery, sleep and overall health.

The emphasis is no longer simply on treating injuries, but on preventing them altogether.

For Kyle Hammond, head team physician for the Falcons and head team orthopedic surgeon for the Hawks, prevention consumes as much time as treatment itself.

“We’re always being proactive,” Hammond says. “New technologies, workout routines, nutrition, recovery protocols—anything you can imagine that may improve health and wellness, we’re evaluating it.”

A year-round endeavor

Long before NFL games begin, Hammond and other physicians are evaluating draft prospects, reviewing medical histories and advising front offices about player health risks. During the season, they oversee practices, rehabilitation plans and injury management while traveling to every Falcons game, home and away.

“It’s really a continuous cycle,” Hammond says. “You’re overseeing the health and wellness and safety of the entire organization.”

The scope can be enormous. Hammond’s responsibilities extend beyond players to coaches, staff and family members associated with the organization.

Yet despite the excitement associated with professional sports, much of the work is logistical, repetitive and demanding.

“There’s always another phone call, another MRI review, another discussion about return-to-play timelines,” says Jeremy Whitley, head team physician for the Hawks.

Whitley describes the NBA season as “a marathon, not a sprint.” The work extends beyond the games.

“You’re always on,” he says. “There’s really no true off switch.”

Late-night flights after road games can be followed immediately by clinic hours the next morning. Treatment discussions continue through text messages and conference calls. Physicians constantly coordinate with athletic trainers, physical therapists, radiologists and specialists.

Data-driven, personalized plans

Increasingly, that coordination is fueled by data.

At the professional level, teams now rely heavily on biomechanical testing, force analysis and movement tracking to identify subtle weaknesses that could predispose athletes to injury.

For example, a slight imbalance between an athlete’s left and right leg strength may signal elevated risk for future knee injuries. Nutritional deficiencies may increase fatigue or delay recovery.

“We’re trying to identify problems before they happen,” says Frazier Keitt, head team physician for the Atlanta Dream. “A lot of what we do is prevention.”

Keitt says that a substantial amount of her work involves preventive care and performance optimization rather than acute injury treatment.

That includes reviewing lab work, monitoring vitamin deficiencies and collaborating closely with nutritionists and conditioning specialists.

“Every player has individualized needs,” Keitt says. “The more you understand those needs, the more effectively you can help them stay healthy.”

At the intersection of sports and science

The drive to prevent injuries—and accelerate recovery safely—has also fueled major research investments.

At the center of that effort is SPARK, Emory’s biomechanics and sports performance research initiative, with facilities in Flowery Branch and at Georgia Tech.

The program is among the nation’s most advanced sports biomechanics and injury prevention research programs, Xerogeanes says, bringing together physicians, engineers, data scientists and researchers to study how athletes move and why injuries occur.

Teams from the NBA, NFL and U.S. Soccer now work with the program.

“We’re building massive datasets around movement and injury prediction,” Xerogeanes says. “The long-term goal is understanding what biomechanical factors place people at risk and how we can alter those risks through training and intervention.”

Beyond professional sports

The knowledge and experience gained from treating athletes benefits the general population.

ACL injuries provide one example.

Over the past decade, Emory physicians helped popularize quadriceps tendon ACL reconstruction—commonly known as quad tendon ACL surgery—particularly among elite athletes.

According to Xerogeanes, the technique represented less than 1% of ACL procedures nationally around 2012. Today, it accounts for nearly half of ACL reconstructions in the United States.

Acceptance among elite athletes helped drive broader adoption.

“Once people saw it working successfully in NFL players and elite college athletes, it became easier for others to trust it as an option,” Xerogeanes says.

Other innovations have followed similar paths.

Biologic treatments such as platelet-rich plasma injections, or PRP, gained traction first among elite athletes before becoming increasingly common in broader orthopaedic care.

Hammond says treating professional athletes often exposes physicians to emerging therapies and technologies earlier than they might otherwise encounter them.

“We’re hearing about things coming down the pipeline before they become mainstream,” he says. “That absolutely translates into our broader practice.”

Whitley sees sports medicine increasingly as a laboratory for performance-focused care that eventually filters outward to everyday patients.

“If we can safely help an NBA player recover from an ankle sprain more efficiently,” he says, “then naturally we ask how those lessons might apply to active adults, recreational athletes or even someone just trying to stay mobile and independent.”

More than famous patients

For physicians inside the program, one recurring misconception is that caring for professional athletes somehow differs fundamentally from caring for everyone else.

In many ways, they say, it does not.

“The athletes are people first,” Whitley says. “They have emotions, stress, family concerns, illnesses. Their jobs just happen to be public.”

And pro athletes can also be stubborn patients.

Keitt laughs as she recalls instances where the players’ love for the game is so evident, seemingly dismissing injuries they may incur. They just want to keep playing.

Over time, physicians often develop unusually close relationships with players because of the amount of time spent together.

Hammond, who travels with the Falcons throughout the NFL season, sees players constantly during practices, games and rehabilitation.

“You really get to know them,” he says. “You understand their personalities, how they respond to injury, how they process things emotionally.”

That closeness creates another layer of complexity.

Physicians must balance the pressure to return athletes to competition quickly while protecting their long-term health and careers.

“There’s a lot at stake financially,” Whitley says. “But ultimately, our obligation is to their health now and after they’re done playing.”

That philosophy shapes many medical decisions behind the scenes.

“It’s always about finding the safest way to get them back,” Hammond says.

The educational ripple effect

The benefits of these partnerships extend into medical education as well. Residents and fellows at Emory gain firsthand exposure to high-level athletics, learning clinical skills as well as the dynamics surrounding elite sports.

“It’s incredibly complex,” Xerogeanes says. “You’re dealing with coaches, agents, parents, ownership groups, front offices—all while still focusing on the patient.”

Those experiences help prepare physicians for future careers in sports medicine and orthopaedics.

Residents often assist at games and practices, gaining access that few training programs can offer. “Our residents are doing things many residents around the country simply don’t get to do,” Xerogeanes says.

The partnerships also help attract physicians and researchers interested in sports medicine innovation. Researchers studying ACL tear prevention, biomechanics or rehabilitation benefit from access to large athlete populations and extensive data collection systems.

“Numbers matter,” Xerogeanes says. “If you want to study injuries meaningfully, you need large datasets and long-term outcomes.”

At the same time, Emory physicians emphasize that elite athletes represent only one layer of the program.

High school outreach programs remain central to the mission. Emory physicians provide medical coverage for numerous metro Atlanta schools and youth sports organizations. These community relationships have built trust over decades.

Coaches refer injured athletes. Parents seek second opinions. Former athletes later return with their own children.

“It becomes generational,” Xerogeanes says. “That’s one of the most rewarding parts.”

A city connected through sports

Atlanta’s sports culture also gives the work a unique visibility. For many patients, knowing their physician treats members of a professional team creates an immediate sense of confidence.

Hammond says fans often recognize him from Falcons coverage or media appearances. “When patients realize you’re trusted by these organizations, there’s validation there,” he says.

But physicians are careful not to frame the relationships as branding exercises. Whitley deliberately avoids taking photos with players or behaving like a fan while working. “This is their workplace,” he says. “I try to remember that.”

Still, physicians acknowledge the emotional connection sports create within the city. Keitt describes seeing Dream season-ticket holders return game after game, passionately supporting women’s basketball as the league continues to grow nationally.

“To watch the evolution of women’s sports in real time has been really special,” she says.

Whitley recalls dreaming about sports medicine as a teenager after injuries of his own introduced him to orthopaedic care. “The coolest part,” he says, “is realizing something you imagined at 17 actually became your life.”

By Martha Nolan, Illustration Elia Sampò, Design Peta Westmaas