Athletes today, whether professional, collegiate or recreational, want care that restores them quickly and keeps them competitive.
Those expectations are pushing health systems to rethink everything from surgeon education to technology adoption to how they deliver consistent, high-value sports medicine across diverse patient groups.
Few leaders have lived this evolution as directly as Michael Banffy, MD, chief of sports medicine at Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai and director of the Cedars-Sinai orthopaedic sports medicine fellowship program. He is also the team physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Rams.
His career spans private practice, high-profile team coverage and now leadership inside a major academic system, a trajectory that has shaped his perspective on what sports medicine will require moving forward.
A career shaped by evolution
Looking back, Dr. Banffy describes his path as one defined by continuous change. “My practice has gone through several evolutions,” he said.
As a resident, he didn’t imagine working with professional athletes. “I honestly wouldn’t say that was my goal from the beginning,” he said. “I thought I’d be happy being a hometown orthopedic surgeon taking care of the local high school team.”
Everything shifted during his fellowship at Los Angeles-based Kerlan-Jobe, the country’s first accredited sports medicine program. The experience changed his understanding of what team care truly involves.
“You think it’s all about caring for these big pro teams,” he said. “But what I realized is that it’s almost like taking care of a small community. You know everyone well — their medical issues, what they’re dealing with.”
That sense of connection, he said, still shapes how he practices today.
A training model built for the full spectrum of sports medicine
One of the most transformative phases of Dr. Banffy’s career came when Kerlan-Jobe transitioned into Cedars-Sinai’s faculty model. The move strengthened the fellowship, expanded resources and improved the experience for trainees.
“With the transition to Cedars-Sinai, the fellowship became much stronger,” he said. “Our fellows’ salaries increased by about $30,000, and they gained far more support.”
But the most important shift, he said, is the breadth of training. “There are a lot of sports medicine fellowships that teach you arthroscopy,” he said. “But they don’t teach you true sports medicine.”
Cedars-Sinai’s program exposes fellows to the full spectrum, weekend warriors, collegiate athletes and professionals, as well as “locker room dynamics, working with agents and everything that comes with team care.”
He believes academic environments push surgeons to grow rather than fall into routine. “The benefit of clinical academic practice is that we are constantly evolving,” he said. “We’re always trying to stay on the cutting edge.”
Technology that actually matters
As innovation accelerates, Dr. Banffy sees the greatest value in technologies that improve precision and reduce preventable errors. Computer-assisted navigation, he said, is poised to transform procedures such as ACL reconstruction and hip arthroscopy.
“We’re not perfect,” he said. “Surgeons like to think we put everything exactly where it needs to be — but studies show we’re not as accurate as we believe.”
Navigation, along with improved anchor systems, helps surgeons “perform the surgery more precisely,” which he believes will drive the next stage of outcomes improvement.
The most transferable lesson from pro sports care to everyday care
Despite years of working with championship-level organizations, Dr. Banffy said the biggest lesson for everyday practices has nothing to do with fame or contracts.
“It’s about treating every athlete the same,” he said. He emphasizes giving patients a full understanding of both operative and nonoperative options and involving them in decisions. “It’s not something we’re deciding for them, it’s something we’re deciding with them.”
Even when insurance or financial constraints limit access to certain treatments, the quality of the conversation should not change.
A growing concern: malpractice exposure
One issue Dr. Banffy believes requires far more national attention is malpractice risk in athlete care, especially as name, image and likeness deals and early-career contracts climb.
“Our malpractice policies aren’t adequate compared to some of these hundred-million-dollar contracts,” he said. He pointed to a high-profile case in Pennsylvania that, he noted, “scared a lot of people” and made some surgeons hesitant to take on athlete care.
“The federal government needs to address this, so physicians aren’t afraid to care for these athletes,” he said.
Looking ahead
As he looks ahead, Dr. Banffy is focused on strengthening Cedars-Sinai’s sports medicine program while preparing for major athletic events coming to Los Angeles, including the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
He said advancing the fellowship remains a priority, along with expanding opportunities for surgeons to work with new navigation and technology platforms expected to accelerate in 2026.
Above all, he emphasized maintaining a program that continues to evolve and supports surgeons in delivering the highest level of care.
