American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
For Immediate Release Jun 26, 2006

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS:  Donald Cooper, MD, Emeritus Director of Student Health and Team Physician for Oklahoma State University received the Humanitarian Award from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM). This award is given annually to an individual that has demonstrated outstanding humanitarian service during their work as a physician. Dr. Cooper has been serving in such a role since 1957.

Dr. Cooper has been a team physician at Kansas State University and Oklahoma State University in addition to serving as a team physician for the 1968 Olympic Games. He has been an advocate for physical fitness and safety in sports. He has served in many roles including the NCAA Football Rules Committee, President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and NCAA’s Committee on Drug Education. He has testified before Congress on the issues of artificial turf and drug use by athletes. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1992. The ceremony took place at the AMSSM 15th Annual Meeting in Miami, Florida.

The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) was organized in 1991 by physicians who recognized the need for an organization within the field of sports medicine that approached athletes, exercising individuals and teams comprehensively with consultative and continuous care of their orthopedic, medical, nutritional and psychosocial issues. Although sports medicine concepts are often thought of in conjunction with professional and elite athletes, these concepts apply to athletes of all levels including grade school, high school, college and recreational athletes. AMSSM is comprised of over 1000 Sports Medicine Physicians whose goal is to provide a link between the rapidly expanding core of knowledge related to sports medicine and its application to patients in a clinical setting.

NOTE: For more information, please contact the AMSSM, 11639 Earnshaw, Overland Park, KS 66210, (913) 327-1415 or [email protected] .