(Indianapolis, IN — March 2, 2022) – The NFL Physicians Society (NFLPS) and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers (PFATS) tonight honored Dr. Allen K. Sills, Chief Medical Officer of the NFL, with an award for his remarkable leadership during the COVID pandemic at the NFLPS Annual Scientific Meeting during the NFL Scouting Combine. The special award was given to him in recognition of his “extraordinary guidance and expertise in navigating the SARS-COV-2 pandemic to assure the health and safety of all NFL athletes and the community.”

As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sills was at the forefront of the NFL’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in consultation with the NFL and NFLPA medical advisors, including the infectious disease experts at Infection Control for Sports (ICS) and epidemiologists from IQVIA, in addition to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health officials. The recommendations of these advisors informed the NFL-NFLPA COVID protocols, including robust testing and contact tracing programs. Under Dr. Sills’s supervision, these protocols have evolved alongside knowledge of the virus and its transmission toward the league’s goal of safely and responsibly completing the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

“Dr. Allen Sills is a true servant leader. He led us through the pandemic with resilience, humility, and humor. I honestly can say that without the leadership of Allen Sills I do not believe there would’ve been successful NFL seasons particularly in 2020,” Dr. Anthony Casolaro, President of the NFLPS and Chief Medical Officer of the Washington Commanders.

“The great Martin Luther King Jr. said: ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.’ I was blessed to see that firsthand in the foxhole over the past two years with Dr. Sills.  You learn a lot about people when you’re in the foxhole. Words like consistent, integrity, steadfast, humble, accountable are just a few that come to mind when I think of his character,” said Reggie Scott, Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance for the Los Angeles Rams and President of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS).