J. Lindsy McLean was an American football coach and athletic trainer for college and professional football teams for nearly 50 years.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1938 Tennessee |
| Alma mater | Vanderbilt University |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1961–1963 | Michigan (Assistant Athletic Trainer) |
| 1963–1965 | UC Santa Barbara (Head Athletic Trainer) |
| 1965–1978 | San Jose State (Head Athletic Trainer) |
| 1968–1979 | Michigan (Head Athletic Trainer) |
| 1979–2003 | San Francisco 49ers (Head Athletic Trainer) |
McLean's college career began as a student athletic trainer at Vanderbilt University in 1956. In 1963, he was the head athletic trainer and director of physical therapy at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1963 to 1965. Next, in 1965, he was named the head athletic trainer and assistant professor at San Jose State College. Lastly, he was the head athletic trainer at the University of Michigan for eleven years from 1968 to 1979. While at Michigan, he was named the first chair of the National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification and was instrumental in developing certification standards for the athletic training profession. He was a member of the athletic training staff at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
In 1979, he moved to professional sports and became the head athletic trainer for the San Francisco 49ers, a position he held for 24 years. He retired at the conclusion of the 2003 NFL season. In 1988, he was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame.[1] In 2005, he received the Cain Fain Memorial Award from the NFL Physician's Society and in 2008, received the Tim Kerin Award for Athletic Training Excellence. McLean has five super bowl rings with the 49ers. According to NFL records (2010), McLean and only three other people had five rings, among them Bill Belichick and player Charles Haley (49ers and Cowboys.)[2]
In February 2004, ESPN The Magazine published a feature story on McLean in which he came out publicly as gay and discussed his experiences in the world of football. He said that many players and team officials were aware of his homosexuality during his years with the 49ers. He detailed incidents of harassment from players as well, including one player who repeatedly grabbed him and performed simulated sex while other players watched.[3][4]
In 2023, Lindsy McLean was inducted into the Professional Athletic Trainers Society Hall of Fame (PFATS)[5] , and received the Award of Excellence from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [6]
Lindsy currently is retired and lives in Brentwood, Tennessee.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "NATA Hall of Fame profile: Lindsy McLean". National Athletic Trainers Association. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010.
- ^ Jim Harwell (September 10, 2010). "Nashville's McLean Has Five Super Bowl Rings". Nashville Sports Net. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016.
- ^ Jim Buzinski (February 4, 2004). "Gay NFL Trainer Tells His Story: Lindsy McLean Saw the Good, Bad and Ugly in His 24 Years With the 49ers, Magazine Says". Outsports.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010.
- ^ Joan Ryan (February 6, 2004). "49ers trainer calls closet his painful strategy: Retirement ends decades of silence". SFGate. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011.
- ^ "PFATS Hall of Fame Class of 2023". PFATS. March 21, 2023.
- ^ Pallares, Lindsey (March 22, 2023). "Two Former 49ers Staff Earn Pro Football Hall of Fame 'Award of Excellence'". 49ers.
Further reading
edit- New York Times: "49ers Decide to Add Diversity to Training Camp," July 8, 2004, accessed January 25, 2010