Ronnie P. Barnes (born February 15, 1952) is an American football athletic trainer who is the head athletic trainer for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He is also their senior vice president of medical services, and has been with the organization since 1976. He graduated from East Carolina University in 1975, and was the first African-American head athletic trainer in the NFL.[1]
Early life and education
Ronnie Barnes was born on February 15, 1952, in North Carolina. He attended East Carolina University and graduated in 1975. He was an assistant athletic trainer for the football team in 1975 after his graduation.[2] He later went to Michigan State University to get a master's degree.[2]
Professional career
In 1976, Barnes became an athletic training intern for the New York Giants.[3] He was promoted to a full time athletic trainer in 1980 and to head athletic trainer in 1981.[3] He won the National Professional Athletic Trainer of the Year award in 1983 and 1987.[4][5] Barnes was named to the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990 and the National Athletics Trainers Association Hall of Fame in 1999.[5][2] Barnes won Super Bowls XXI, XXV, XLII, and XLVI with the Giants. He was given a lifetime achievement award in 2019.[3] He was inducted into the Giants Ring of Honor in 2022.[6] From 2009 to 2022, when Barnes was Head Athletic Trainer and including his entire tenure as Senior Vice President of Medical Services, the NY Giants were the most injured team in the league according to USA Today, losing more players for more games than any other team in the NFL. [7]
Awards
- ECU Athletics Hall of Fame (1990)
- National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame (1999)
- 4x Super Bowl champion
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2x National Professional Athletic Trainer of the Year (1983, 1987)
- New York Giants Ring of Honor (2022)
References
- ^ "Giants confident Ronnie Barnes can guide team through COVID-19". June 24, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Ronnie Barnes (1990) - ECU Athletics Hall of Fame". East Carolina University Athletics.
- ^ a b c "Giants' Ronnie Barnes given lifetime achievement award". www.giants.com.
- ^ "Barnes voted top trainer". The News and Observer. February 2, 1988. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "He Might Be Giants: Is Longtime Trainer Ronnie Barnes the Most Powerful Man in New York Football?". The New York Observer. September 10, 2013.
- ^ Carroll, Charlotte (September 26, 2022). "Giants' beloved athletic trainer Ronnie Barnes joining Ring of Honor". The Athletic.
- ^ "Giants are the NFL's most-injured team since 2009". 21 January 2022.
Further reading
- Powell, Lee (January 17, 1987). "Too small to play, this N.C. native became a trainer and now he's... Super Bowl Bound". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved March 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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