APTA Colorado President Cameron MacDonald Gives An Interview With 9News

Posted: August 25, 2017

Disclaimer: The following is a 9News Denver Facebook posting that involves a current and ongoing investigation into the activities occurring at a Denver area high school in relation to the cheerleading team. The images contained within the video have the potentially to be very disturbing and APTA CO does not wish to promote the broadcast of such material. We do recognize though that the material has been aired on the evening and morning news on channel 9, and is also on Facebook and has been viewed close to 1/4 million times. As such this information is provided. 

Primary in this video link is an interview that APTA Colorado President Cameron MacDonald conducted at the request of Regis University and 9News to address the issues as presented with this undercover investigation. He completed this interview in both his role as Assistant Professor at Regis University in the School of Physical Therapy and as the President of APTA Colorado:

I found the videos to be very concerning, and I (along with many) have a lot of answered questions to fully understand the actions shown. What I sought to address, as speaking directly to the actions as shown without full contextual understanding would be premature, was the crucial role Physical Therapists and Athletic Trainers play in providing an educational and leadership role in the health of our youth in our schools.

Further to this, I spoke to key considerations to be made with structuring an intervention aimed to promote flexibility. The interview was approximately ½ hour, five minutes are shown. A shorter version appeared on Nine news Wed night and Thursday morning, and the story without my input was aired nationally Thursday on NBC news. Regis University and Colorado Chapter members are currently active in seeking options available to help the children who are involved in this concerning situation. As this is a current police investigation our chapter legal counsel has been consulted.

As your elected leader I would ask each of you to consider our role in the optimization of the quality of our youths sporting adventures. It is likely questions will be brought to you, as we are recognized as experts in movement and the promotion of health across the lifespan. This is a very challenging situation and we are actively seeking to help. -- Cameron MacDonald