Imagine that it’s the week of the football championship game, and a star player may have an undisclosed head injury. Everyone wants him to play. If you were the coach, would you let him? Or picture a talented WNBA hopeful who has torn her ACL—for the third time. Add in bouts of bulimia and her lifelong dream of going pro. As her adviser, what would you do? These are only two of the agonizing questions that Harvard Law School’s Charles Ogletree puts to a panel of dedicated and deeply concerned sports experts. In this Fred Friendly Seminar, filmed at an annual meeting of The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, they explore the ethical and medical issues—and moral obligations—that come into play whenever an athlete becomes a patient. Topics include conflicts of interest, the complexities of informed consent, the limits of confidentiality, and the vital trust triangle between the athlete, team doctor, and coach. Panelists include Trace Armstrong, former president of the NFL Players Association; orthopedics specialist John Bergfeld, M.D., team physician for the Cleveland Browns and Cavaliers; Andrew Bishop, M.D., team physician for the Atlanta Falcons; malpractice lawyer Patrick Dekle; Gordon Matheson, M.D., Ph.D., head of sports medicine at Stanford University; Elliot Pellman, M.D., the NFL’s medical liaison; football Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood; and others. (58 minutes)