Overview
Ariko Iso grew up in Tokyo, Japan, where she played basketball. During her junior year of high school, she tore her ACL and spent about two months in the hospital doing rehab, where she met college athletes, and that experience led her toward athletic training. She moved to the United States, earned a bachelor's degree from Oregon State University in 1993 and a master's degree from San Jose State University in 1995, and worked as an athletic trainer for college teams. After two summers as a training camp intern with the Pittsburgh Steelers, she was hired full-time in 2002, becoming the first full-time female athletic trainer in NFL history. She worked for the Steelers until 2011, a stretch that included two Super Bowl championships, and then became head football athletic trainer at Oregon State.
Why She Matters
When the Steelers hired Iso, no NFL team had ever had a woman as a full-time athletic trainer. Steelers head athletic trainer John Norwig has described the team's approach simply: "The best person gets the job." Iso has said she "never really thought about the first female part as a big deal," and that she felt supported by the team. Her path began with her own injury and a long rehab, then took her across an ocean and into the NFL. Today, many NFL teams have women on their athletic training staffs, and Iso is recognized as a trailblazer who helped open that door.
